Final Fantasy VII: The Search for Tomorrow
by MelancholyNiGHT
Summary: Meteor was attracted to more than Midgar's reactors. Cloud knows this, but how, and why does Aerith seem to haunt him? COMPLETED 5-11-04
1. Reminders

None of the following characters are mine. blah, blah.. Squaresoft OWNS.  
  
Final Fantasy VII: The Search for Tomorrow  
  
::Chapter One - Reminders::  
  
There he stood, on the deck of the Highwind, cigarette in mouth, goggles on head. Cid's ship was war torn. There was no doubt it was an intense finale. What, if anything was alive down there in the ruins of what was once the great Mako city of Midgar? Have the creatures that infested the outskirts of town infested the ruins? With one puff of white smoke from his mouth, Cid turned away and headed back into the interior of the ship. He glanced over to see Yuffie kneeled over towards the end of one corner of the cargo area. She was still nauseous from the motion of the craft. Her hands were shaking as if she'd been terrified from some unknown force. Cid hesitated to say anything, and then continued on into the main deck area. It had been approximately five hours since Holy and the Lifestream disintegrated Meteor. Something he'd witnessed through his own eyes. Magnificent, if one would call it that. He'd become a part of the world's history now.  
  
Barrett stared out of the main window of the deck, peeking out to see the smoldering ruins of what was once a great, but evil city. AVALANCHE had won their war. The lives of Jessie, Biggs and Wedge all sacrificed for this day. Barrett hadn't been the same since that sector plate fell. The evil Shinra Corporation led Midgar, and was the ones at fault to boot. Barrett was rubbing the barrel of the gun that was his permanent reminder of the incident at Corel. He solemnly remembers Dyne, the father of Marlene. He became consumed by his own hatred after Corel was burned down by Shinra. Barrett wondered how Marlene was, and if she was safe. Somehow he knew inside that she was, almost as if she were guarded by Aerith's spirit.  
  
Tifa looked at Cloud, who was sleeping in a corner of the main Bridge area. He'd gone through a lot in the past week or two. His Buster sword was propped up against what appeared to be the controls for the flight navigation. Its blade looked dull and lifeless, its handle cracked from the fight with Sephiroth. Luckily, Cid's well-trained pilot didn't need the equipment it was laying against as of now. Tifa noticed what appeared to be just a tiny amount of drool coming from the Hero's mouth. Sleeping like a baby, she thought, as she went to check on Yuffie, who was undoubtedly still succumbing to the feeling of air travel. Cloud had begun to move as she walked towards where Yuffie was.  
  
"AERITH!" Cloud was awake now, sweating as if he'd had a horrible vision in his sleep. He kept telling himself it was only a dream; Aerith had died at the hands of Sephiroth, sacrificed for the rest of humankind. She was the last of the Cetra, shamelessly killed by a man of pure evil. Cloud looked around, seeing everyone but the pilot staring at him as if he'd woken from a coma.  
  
"What's the deal, Cloud?" Barrett asked from where he was originally standing.  
  
"Ahh. Umm.. nothing, I had a bad dream, that's all." Cloud replied as he looked at the ground.  
  
"You've been having those 'bad dreams' since Aerith died. You're dreaming of her, aren't you?" Cloud stood up, and walked towards Barrett.  
  
"No, I don't have to dream of her. It's almost as if, she's doing the dreaming for me, telling me where I can find her." He looked away as if his words seemed foolish. "You don't have to believe me. This dream was too real to be something from my imagination. Aerith told me that her soul had not disappeared from this planet. She said that if we return to the Ancient City, we'll discover the truth behind the Cetra and its people." Cloud turned away and was stopped by Barrett.  
  
"Do, do you think we'll find her there?" Cloud faced Barrett and looked at the floor.  
  
"I'm not sure where 'there' is, Barrett. I know it's somewhere at the Ancient City, but where at. I'm not sure." Cloud walked out of the main bridge area and headed past Yuffie and Tifa towards the deck where Cid was earlier.  
  
Red XIII sat out on the deck, as Cloud approached him. "What are you doing, Red?"  
  
"I'm listening for the spirit of Grandfather." Red XIII stood up and looked at Cloud, who appeared tattered and worn out. "You look like you need sleep."  
  
Cloud looked away. "No, I just woke up. Aerith was in a dream, but it was too real to be a dream."  
  
Red walked away from Cloud. "She's calling you. Go find her."  
  
Cloud sat in the corner. "Find her how?"  
  
Red looked at him and shook his head. "Have your soul seek hers. If you believe fully, you can succeed."  
  
Cloud looked away from Red. He caught a glimpse of something in the sky, but he needed to stand in order to make out exactly what it was. Cloud stood, and walked toward the end of the Deck. His eyes were open wide, in terror. He saw a familiar figure in the sky. The figure was looking down as if he had become one with the stars. Sephiroth... it couldn't be. Cloud defeated him and witnessed him become nothing. He witnessed Sephiroth dissolve into the core of the planet. No, he thought to himself. It couldn't be. Sephiroth couldn't have succeeded. Meteor was destroyed. Holy and the Lifestream were set free from binding. Cloud looked away and closed his eyes, and then peeked again. The vision was gone. His mind had been playing tricks on him. He wondered if the visions of Aerith were as much an illusion as this one of Sephiroth.  
  
"You're right Red; I think I do need rest." With that Cloud went back to the Bridge. 


	2. Kalm Nights, Impossible Odds

::Chapter Two - Kalm Nights, Impossible Odds::  
  
Cait Sith sat looking at his megaphone. It was obvious his controller was away on other business, Cait hadn't spoken a word since Meteor disintegrated. The puppet sat lifeless waiting for Reeve to resume command. The giant stuffed moogle the cat was sitting on seemed to be the only cheerful thing about its current state. The sheer mechanics of how the thing operated confused many of Cid's crew, as well as Cloud and the others. One would assume that Reeve was off attending to survivors of the effects of Meteor, aiding those he could. Now that the Turks were no more, he'd have nothing better to do.  
  
Vincent stared in the direction of Nibelheim. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go back and live in the dank coffin that he'd been in for several years. He still couldn't let go of the memories of Lucrecia. He had seen her, in that cave. He was sure of it. He looked down at his bronze glove, which covered the deformities of his hand. Why, he thought to himself, why did I ever want to be a Turk? Did I do it to be closer to Lucrecia? If I did, look at what happened. Professor Gast was a madman, after all.  
  
Cid was talking to his trained pilot as Vincent continued the thoughts in his head. The pilot and the Captain appeared to be discussing something of rather important matter.  
  
Cid shook his head yes and then walked to an intercom system. "Attention, all personnel please report to the main bridge. Again, all personnel report to the main bridge." Cloud was sleeping in the bridge area when he was startled by the loud speaker system equipped on the Highwind.  
  
"Who broke what now, Cid?" Cloud mumbled as he tried to get to his feet.  
  
"This isn't about anything being broken. We're landing in a few minutes. We need more fuel, so I had the pilot call into Kalm where the rescue crews have been stationed. Apparently, we can land there and refuel. The cost for fuel is 16 Gil more than other places, but we need fuel and the next closest place is Junon." Cid continued to finish another cigarette as he explained the situation to everyone.  
  
"You woke me up for THAT?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Listen kid, I figured everyone should know." Cid walked away from the pilot and towards the group of listeners.  
  
"Damn you Cid, waking me up like that. Stupid gfrrrrg." Cloud began to mumble as he fell back asleep in his corner.  
  
"Anyhow," Cid said, looking away from the sleeping Cloud, "We need 1029 Gil to refuel this ship. How much does everyone have?"  
  
Tifa looked at Cid "Uhh.. I have 300, I think."  
  
Vincent looked around. "I don't have money."  
  
Barrett scratched his head. "I think I got maybe 900, but it ain't all for you. I'll give ya 400."  
  
Yuffie walked in still nauseous. "How do I look, everybody?"  
  
Barrett looked at her. She appeared as if she had the flu. Her eyes had a mild yellowish tone to them. "You look horrible."  
  
Yuffie looked down. "Oh, I thought I was finally getting the hang of this flying thing too."  
  
Cid looked at Yuffie. "We need money. How much do you have?"  
  
Yuffie hesitated. "Money for what?"  
  
Cid shook his head as he tried to explain the situation, again. "Money for fuel. We're low."  
  
"Uhh, I have maybe 100. You want it?" Yuffie dug into her pocket to find her remaining Gil. She didn't need it that badly, for it wasn't even hers. She had stolen it from Cloud as he slept. She figured he wouldn't notice a small amount missing. "Here you go!" She said, as she handed over the money with a somewhat cheerful look on her face. Cid took it, along with everyone else's donations. "Good. I'll take care of the rest. If you need to, sell anything you don't need to gain some Gil back for later.  
  
"AERITH! THIS CAN'T BE REAL!!!" Cloud awoke from what apparently was another vision. His forehead was covered in sweat. He was short of breath, as well as shaking. Cloud looked up slowly, for he knew everyone heard him.  
  
"Cloud?" Tifa sat down next to him. "Another dream?"  
  
Cloud turned to Tifa. "It was a flashback, I think."  
  
Tifa wiped Cloud's brow with a small towel. "What happened?"  
  
"I, I, watched Aerith die at the hands of Sephiroth." Cloud took the towel and threw it to the side. He stood up and walked out of the bridge. "I have to find a way to stop this."  
  
The Highwind was on the ground now, near the temporary camp at Kalm. Rescue workers from all over the globe arrived to help in the matter. There were citizens from Wutai, all the way over to Rocket Town. Midgar was completely destroyed. Only one portion of Sector 5 remained standing, the rest had fallen just as Sector 7's had. The playground where Cloud and Aerith shared a moment when they first discovered Tifa being kidnapped by Don Corneo was now nothing. The Wall Market was aflame, the poor old man who sewed Cloud's temporary disguise had died, his shop caved in on him. The Honeybee Inn no longer stood as well; it was now replaced with chunks of Sector 6's wall. Corneo and his mansion also became sector wall fodder.  
  
Back at Kalm, Cloud had checked himself into a room at the inn, and immediately sat in the corner of the room and went back into his slumber. The buster sword lay on the bed where Cloud should have slept. Outside, Cid was refueling the Highwind. The persons in charge of fuel distribution decided not to charge Cid since he and the crew had helped prevent complete global destruction. Yuffie visited the Materia shop. She would buy one for a change, but not with her money, no, she again stole money from Cloud. She sat her sights on a Cure Materia. She already had one, but this one possessed a stranger glow than the one she currently carried. The cost was only 550 Gil. Cloud wouldn't notice that, or so she thought. Yuffie hurriedly purchased the gem and returned to the ship. Red was walking around looking for food when she arrived back. She looked around and noticed hazardous material suits being delivered to the Highwind. Tifa looked at Yuffie and then shrugged. It was possible that persons there assumed that the crew of the Highwind had come to help in the cleanup. Tifa looked around for Cloud before asking of his whereabouts.  
  
"Cloud?" Cid asked, having no idea where he was, "He was sleeping before we landed, so knowing him, he's probably at the Inn. Check there."  
  
Tifa headed off towards the Kalm Inn, in search for Cloud. He didn't say a word to anyone when he de-boarded the ship. She arrived at the Registration desk a minute later, and asked where he could be found. She got the room number from the woman behind the counter and then headed up to check on him. Looking at the number, she could remember that it was the same room as before, when Cloud, Barrett, Red XIII, Aerith, and her first escaped Midgar. She arrived at Cloud's room and knocked on the door. Receiving no answer, she checked the doorknob. Cloud had left the deadbolt off, so the room was unlocked. There he sat, in the corner curled up against the wall. The buster sword still lay on the bed. Tifa moved the sword to up against a wall and lay on the bed herself. She didn't know why Cloud was having these horrible dreams. She wasn't sure if any of them had meaning. She pondered all of these things as she fell asleep on the bed.  
  
The Highwind was finished being refueled as dusk had fallen on the small town of Kalm. This would be the first night after the Meteor incident. Most of the fires at Midgar were put out, while many were still smoldering. The smoke from the smolder dissolved into the night sky and was carried away with the gusts of wind that carried them towards the sea. When morning hit, the crew of the Highwind would return to Midgar and rescue those that they can. For now Yuffie, Cid, Red XIII, Vincent, and the navigators of the Highwind slept in the cabins aboard the ship. At the Inn, Cloud tossed and turned on the floor he was sleeping on, while mumbling what was mostly gibberish in his sleep. Tifa laid above all the covers of the bed, with her arms dangling down the side. Morning would come in seven hours. Seven hours that would seem like less. 


	3. Illusions in Ruins

::Chapter Three - Illusions in Ruins::  
  
Dawn had arisen. The small campfires that had been constructed by various groups of aid workers are as useful as a used match could be at this point. The sun was just peeking over the still-smoking ruins of Midgar. Many of the temporary citizens were beginning to wake up. The crew of the Highwind was slowly crawling out of the aircraft's hold, just in time to see Cloud walk out of the Inn. He appeared rested, and free from delusions that had prevented him from sleeping earlier after Meteor. Tifa followed a few minutes later, looking as rested as Cloud. Meanwhile, everyone else looked as if they'd been woken up too early. Cid was drinking coffee he'd gotten from the pub. Barrett was drinking a morning mixture of what appeared to be coffee and butterscotch schnapps. Yuffie struggled to keep her eyes open, and appeared as intoxicated as Barrett was working on becoming. She could hardly stand, after being on the non-moving ground for so long.  
  
Tifa looked at everyone waiting for her as she approached them. "Wow. Good morning to you as well." The ill-rested ones let out a slight mumble that one could have interpreted as 'go to hell.' Cloud took and used the towel, which was still lying on the floor inside the Highwind, to wipe off his sword. He decided a trip to the Weapons Shop was in order to fix the handle. He preferred to visit the weapon seller on the coast of the Western Continent, but the Kalm shop would do. He let everyone know where he was going and then headed off.  
  
The hazardous material suits, or has-mat suits, as Barrett was calling them, were each picked to fit the crew of the Highwind that would travel to the Midgar ruins. A special one was required to be made for Red XIII, who wanted to explore the ruins of the 70-story Shinra Tower, in hopes he would discover anything about the experiments done on him. It was time to don these plastic suits, and cover their individual faces with masks. The remaining Mako in the air would be dangerous if inhaled in strong amounts. The filters placed inside the breathing apparatus blocked nearly every trace of toxic chemicals in the air at any given time.  
  
Cloud returned just in time to dress himself up in the neon-yellow outfits. Cid looked at himself in the reflection off of the Highwind's cargo bay door. He looked at the yellow outfit and couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of Déjà vu. He wasn't sure where he had experienced this before, but he knew it had happened. By this time everyone was ready to board the chocobo shuttles which carried workers between Kalm, Midgar, and Junon.  
  
Cloud looked at everyone else in his or her suits and then stopped. "Do I really have to wear this thing? I was bathed in Mako, remember?"  
  
Cid stopped and looked at Cloud. "Just wear the damn suit, kid. Okay? You don't know what's in that place anymore than I do."  
  
Cloud shrugged and then continued walking. A few minutes later a round of chocobo shuttles had arrived. These transports looked exactly like the hovercraft given to Cloud for winning the chocobo race back at the Golden Saucer. The only obvious difference was the painted on "Chocobo Shuttles" logo on the sides.  
  
Ten minutes or so later the shuttle dropped Cloud and the rest off at the Entrance to Sector 5. There was no need for a key anymore; the doors that sealed Midgar from the rest of the world were lying on the ground a few hundred yards away. Debris was scattered everywhere the instant the crews arrived inside the ill-fated sector. Portions of the upper plate of various sectors had found new homes at the base of sector 5. The Junon Cannon, removed from Junon to battle WEAPON, was dismantled from its makeshift stand and lay amongst the tons of concrete and steel. The crews were able to walk in and out of its barrel as they wished, but none ventured near the thing. Barrett looked around and envisioned everything in his head as it were - Midgar operating as a whole. He wanted AVALANCHE to win. He never expected their efforts would turn out like this.  
  
Several aid workers rushed around in neon-yellow suits that matched the crew's. There were several people hauling out what appeared to be dead bodies which had been wrapped in cloth for fear someone would recognize one of them.  
  
Cloud looked around and then looked at everyone else. "What are we doing here? This place is a war zone."  
  
Red looked up to Cloud. "We're here to find survivors."  
  
Cloud shrugged. "What about all these people already working? Aren't we just getting in the way?"  
  
Cid looked at Cloud. "Dammit, kid, shut your word hole and look for either one of two things: surviving citizens, or creatures that we should kill." Cloud slung his sword over one shoulder and nodded.  
  
Barrett saw what remained of the Sector 5/Sector 6 dividing wall and stopped in his tracks. "Goddamn, Meteor, no, goddamn Sephiroth jes didn't know when ta quit." Every couple of minutes a survivor would be found shaking, screaming, and more or less crying. The found were either protecting their children, or looking at a relative, either husband, wife, or child, who had died in the catastrophe. Even almost a day since the event many people were panicking, looking for missing family members. Some were trying to return to their homes in the slums to search for anything that hadn't been destroyed. The only sector where anyone could walk around in was sector 5, for most of its plate still stood. The reactor nearby had been turned off after the firing of Junon Cannon, and it had been knocked over.  
  
Sector 6's upper plate was reachable by climbing a tall ladder up the side of the plate from the ground.  
  
Cloud pointed ahead to a location the distance. "Look. Aerith's house." The neatly kept house was now covered in dirt, as well as portions of the sector wall, and also parts from the cannon's support structure. The weird glowing point which was immediately outside the doorway that Barrett kept calling a "Save point" was no longer glowing, nor remaining. Cloud walked up the one step that remained on the front of the house and reached for the door. It fell off as soon as he tried to open it.  
  
Barrett looked frightened. He was worried about Marlene. "Is there anyone in there!? Is there!? Is Marlene safe!? Dammit Cloud, is she in there!?"  
  
Cloud pushed Barrett back. "NO, BARRET, no one is in here! They fled before it happened. You seem so worried about it. What happened to the 'calm and cool' Barrett who knew Marlene was safe?"  
  
Barrett scratched his head. "I jes, am worried, that's all. I saw those other kids, and got worried."  
  
Tifa looked at Barrett. "Wow, Barrett has a compassionate side."  
  
Barrett turned away. "Shut up, Tifa." Cloud was the first to walk in. He hesitated when he reached the staircase of the small dining area. He could remember how the stairs would creak when you'd walk too fast. Aerith hated that. Now there were only a few passable steps remaining. Cloud took in a deep breath, let it out, and started for the upstairs area.  
  
A few minutes later everyone had made it upstairs. The air was filled with dust, Mako, and several other unidentified chemicals. Cloud walked in the room where he slept the night he stayed there. The bed was covered with rocks and metal that had come through the roof. Aerith's room was untouched, but for the thick layers of dirt that covered the floor and bed. Aerith's empty flower basket sat on a nightstand, to never be filled again. There was some Gil sitting in the bottom of the basket, Money she had collected from customers. Cloud saw that his money was in the basket. He knew it was his because he'd written "Fortune" on the back of it. Cloud walked out of the room and slowly closed the door behind him.  
  
"What was in there?" Tifa asked.  
  
Cloud looked at the ground. "Memories. Memories; that's all." Tifa looked at the now closed room and walked away. Cloud noticed an object on the floor near the doorway to Aerith's room. It had a small amount of shininess to it, but had been covered in so much filth it was hardly noticeable.  
  
Cloud picked it up and looked at it. It seemed to be a piece of jewelry Aerith had removed sometime before they had first left Midgar. "Hold on, I think I've found something." He said as he brushed it off. It was a necklace that contained a photo. The photo was of Aerith and Cloud while on the Gondola at Golden Saucer. He slid the item in his pocket and walked to meet everyone else downstairs. The stair creaked before he'd reached it. He felt a gust of wind rush past him at that moment. He was sure it was nothing, and made his way back downstairs.  
  
Cid looked at the deformed house and shook his head. "Goddammit. This was a nice house."  
  
Barrett nodded. "Tch, WAS."  
  
Cloud motioned for everyone else to follow him. "Come on, let's get out of here. There's nothing else here for me."  
  
Red XIII stopped Cloud. "Wait a minute. We're going to the Shinra Tower."  
  
Cloud shrugged and headed towards Sector 6's ladder. "We're probably not going to be able to get there from the ground. We might need the Highwind."  
  
Red shook his head. "No, the workers have made a temporary pathway. We can use it to reach the Main entrance. From there, I'm unsure about it." Everyone looked at Red in disbelief.  
  
Cloud scratched his head. "How the hell did you figure all this out?"  
  
Red started towards the ladder. "I talked to some of the workers before the rest of you woke up. One of us had to be the Informed here, so I went ahead and took the liberty of doing so."  
  
Yuffie walked up the ladder first while mumbling. No one could really make out what she was saying, but in her mind the words were: "Great, we've got a talking lion-thing that thinks he's Mr. Know-it-all." She turned back and smiled. "So how are we getting HIM up here? He can't exactly climb, you know."  
  
Red recalled the time where he stood on two legs for several hours dressed as a navy officer, while being a stowaway on the ship to Costa del Sol. "If I can stand on two legs, I can climb." Red slowly began to climb the ladder, which was rather steep. He required help from everyone else, but it wasn't badly needed.  
  
Sooner or later, everyone made his or her way up the ladder and onto the top of Sector 6's plate. The walk from the ladder to the front courtyard of the Shinra Tower wasn't very long. Essentially, everyone was walking on the wall that separated the two sectors of 5 and 6 apart. Every now and then there would be an area that was impassible, so a detour had been created. The detour ran on the top layer of Sector 6. From afar, the crew could see Reactor #4 had begun to produce flames. This caused worry, and many of the rescue aid evacuated. The few that didn't were either on their way out anyhow, or were inside the tower. By now everyone had reached the tower's doors. The side passageway that contained flights of emergency stairs was no more. It had been crushed in by massive weight. It had appeared as if the place had been bombed several times. The glass from the windows covered much of the concrete. A small passageway led to the only accessible door. The debris surrounding the interior and exterior of the building had permanently sealed the other doors.  
  
The group looked up at the remaining floors of the building, and made their way in. 


	4. Only Speak the Truth

::Chapter Four - Only Speak the Truth::  
  
Inside the now crippled Shinra Tower it was easy to see through various portions of the walls. The vehicles on the main floor were inoperable. Most were crushed with supports that held the now caved in floor above it. The stairway was barely accessible from inside the lobby, but wasn't damaged severely. There were various creatures roaming around the bottom floors, but none of those floors were passable by humans. The creatures had made their way in via the open window areas that had been shattered. The first passable floor opening was at floor number 55. The tired group made their way into the floor, closing the door behind them, and having it fall off. It was easy to tell that the building was of no use anymore. You could feel it sway in the gusts of wind, meaning its supports were slowly giving away.  
  
Floor 55 held mainly offices, storage, and a snack bar. All of these things had been destroyed. Computer terminals were thrown all over various parts of the room. The snack machines that once said "Proud to work for Shinra!" lay on their sides, with their contents thrown about on the floor.  
  
Barrett picked one of the still wrapped packages up. "Free food." He said, as he dangled it in his fingers at the other members. Everyone turned his or her head in disgust.  
  
"Barrett, we're not in here for lunch." Tifa said, walking away from the snack area.  
  
"Cloud, ain't you hungry? You been without a meal a while now." Barrett dangled the spicy chips in front of Cloud's face.  
  
"No, and if you try to feed that to me, you can expect to get it vomited right back at you." Cloud said, following Tifa towards the stairwell. "Come on, let's go to the labs."  
  
Everyone followed, heading up ten or so more floors, searching for the right room. It had been a while since they first broke into Shinra. Everyone broke off into single person parties and searched floors 60 through 69 looking for the right corridor.  
  
Within a few minutes Barrett found the right floor, but wasn't sure which number it was. He called out to the other searching members before going in. "I think this is da right one. Does anyone got a flashlight?"  
  
Cloud was the first to arrive where Barrett was standing. "No but I don't think it will be that bad. There's enough light coming in from outside." Cloud walked in slowly.  
  
Inside the numberless floor there was barely a route that was passable by anyone. Debris, portions of the walls, glass, and other obstacles prevented anyone from going very far.  
  
There were a few sections that were passable through crawling, in which Red was the first to attempt. "I found it!" He yelled from the other side of a blocked off wall.  
  
"Found what!?" Cloud shouted from behind the barrier.  
  
"I found Hojo's old testing area. Crawl over here and see it for yourself." Red replied.  
  
Everyone began to make their way over to the other side of this barricade. Once everyone was over there a loud creaking noise could be heard as it echoed throughout the floor.  
  
"Cloud, what was that?" Yuffie asked, fearing for her life.  
  
"It's the supports to the floor. We don't have much time. I suggest we find whatever Red wants to find and get out of here." Cloud said, looking around at the ceiling above him.  
  
Red hurried towards Hojo's desk. "Duly noted. All I need to find are his experiment reports on me, and Aerith, if you wish for me to get them." Cloud froze. Aerith? Hojo actually did tests on Aerith? He was inhuman as well as insane. Aerith wasn't his pet rat. He shook it off and sighed. "I, I guess. If you can find them, get them." There was more rattling from above and below. "Hurry Red. We're running out of.." Cloud stopped in the middle of his sentence. He saw Aerith in captivity inside of the tank that once held Jenova. "Aerith." He slowly walked up to the tank. It had been repaired, he noticed. The glass and door were fixed, or the whole tank had been replaced. He looked in on her. She was asleep, or perhaps unconscious. He put his hand up to the glass window. "Aerith. let me know how to help you." His vision of Aerith seemed more real than ever this time. She slowly seemed to awaken from the slumber she was in, looked at Cloud and smiled. Cloud had what appeared to be a smile on his face. "Aerith! You're.. alive, but how? Aerith?" Cloud looked at everyone else. They were looking at him as if he were an idiot.  
  
Yuffie couldn't help but laugh. "Nice one, daydreamer, you just started a conversation with a wall."  
  
Cloud looked back at where Aerith was, or rather, where she was not. "No. she was right here. She was RIGHT HERE, GODDAMNIT. What do these visions MEAN!?"  
  
The creaking had become something more... The wind was entirely too strong, the supports were too weak, and the weight of the floors was too much. The tower had stood its final day.  
  
Vincent was the first to notice the creaking change into a rumble. The tower was collapsing in on itself. "If everyone's done daydreaming, could we leave? I like being three- dimensional." Red handed the reports over to Cloud and crawled back through the only entrance. Everyone quickly passed back through the small hole and ran for the stairs.  
  
"Quickly! I hear debris falling onto the floor above!" Vincent let everyone else pass as he ran back for his pistol.  
  
"Vincent! What are you doing!? We'll buy a new one, forget that gun!" Cloud shouted as he ran.  
  
Vincent ran back to try to catch the group. "Lucrecia gave me this gun. I'm not losing it!" He was about four floors behind everyone else when the top level started collapsing.  
  
"Vincent, run faster, you must go faster!" Tifa shouted back as they reached the 35th floor. Vincent was back on the 41st floor, running as fast as possible. Above, floors 70-50 were collapsing. One by one, the floor above flattened each floor below. There were steel pillars falling through the center of the tower. One pillar stopped the fleeing crew for a minute, as it completely ripped away one wall surrounding the stairwell. It was easy to see the floors collapse now. There were only seconds left. 20, 18, 16, 14, the numbers seemed like they came hours after each other.  
  
"Cloud! Vincent's back too far!!" Tifa shouted while running.  
  
Cloud ran without looking back. "We don't have time! He'll make it, just run! We're almost there!"  
  
A cloud of dust had engulfed where the Shinra Tower once stood. It was still collapsing, but there was no sight of it from the immediate area. Remaining aid workers fled back to the exit of Sector 5. There was a yell, a yell of pain, a shout of obscenity.  
  
"Tifa! Cloud! Goddammit!" It was Vincent. He'd fallen on the platform that led from the 13th floor to the 14th.  
  
Tifa started yelling. "Vincent! We have to go back for him! We can't leave him behind!"  
  
Cloud pushed Tifa forward. "Vincent isn't going to make it, either ALL of us die in here, or we get out alive. NOW RUN!" Time seemed to flow like molasses. The remaining seconds until the crew reached the lobby felt like hours. One of them had been left behind to die. Die... Tifa thought. Was Vincent really alive in the first place? What is "die" If you're not actually alive? The remaining members fled out of the corridor that contained the stairs. They barely made it out of the lobby. There was no will to stop running; knowing the cloud of dust was directly behind them. The tower was completely collapsed now, and dust had reached as high as one could imagine. Tifa and Yuffie were screaming and running as fast as possible, while trying to keep close to one of the others. The exit was just ahead. By this time everyone was exhausted. Their running had become no more than a fast paced walk. As soon as they had reached the Sector 5 exit, everyone hit the ground. Not a single person moved.  
  
Cloud removed his mask, and everyone else soon followed. He struggled for air at the same time as screaming, "Vincent!!!" The man with the gun was so intent on keeping his undying passion for Lucrecia; he was so vain to go back for that weapon. Tifa was crying. The mysterious Vincent gave his life for a material possession. The thought of it just seemed to be so SURREAL. It was unimaginable, even. Yuffie slowly crawled to her feet. Barrett was still, as well as Cid. Red XIII struggled to force the mask that was specially fitted for him off.  
  
Cloud slowly stood up and looked at the two books he had gotten from Red. "We killed Vincent. We killed Vincent for this petty information!?"  
  
Tifa comforted him. "Vincent made the choice to go back on his own. Why, Cloud? Why did he die for something so insignificant!?"  
  
Cloud looked at the giant cloud of smoke. "I don't know."  
  
A few minutes later a rescue crew arrived to their location to help them. One of them called out to the escapees. "Hello!? Is anyone alive!?" There was a faint yellow flashing light on the vehicle.  
  
Cloud waved his arms; something he wasn't sure was worth it, and yelled. "Over here! We're by the Sector entrance!" The vehicle pulled near them and motioned for them to get in. Cloud hesitated.  
  
Tifa looked at him and put her hand out. "C'mon Cloud, we don't have time!" Cloud backed off and ran back towards the entrance of the building.  
  
Cid planted his dust-covered hand in his face. "Great, here he goes, playing hero again. Wait, did I just rub dirt all over my face? DAMMIT!"  
  
Cloud had reached the location where Shinra tower's entrance once stood. He ran in to where the door was and made his way to the stairwell. He could see Vincent lying on the platform three or four stories above him. He headed for the platform, climbing various obstacles to get there. "Vincent!?" He shouted, trying to make his way closer to the fallen former Turk. He finally reached where Vincent lay. The Metal gauntlet that covered his deformed hand was gone, his hand was streaming with blood. Much of what he was wearing had been torn away. For the first time in years Vincent was plainly seen by looking eyes. He sputtered out a word or two, which didn't make any sense to cloud, before he finally spit out the words "Get out." He tried to point towards the ground, but couldn't move his arm in order to do so.  
  
Cloud didn't move from where he was. "I'm here to get you out. Tifa and Yuffie they're crying out there."  
  
Vincent tried to laugh, but ended up coming out more as a "meh."  
  
Cloud removed debris from him and looked puzzled. "You're laughing at me? You're half dead and you're laughing at me?"  
  
Vincent slowly moved his arm and brought the gun, still clasped in his hand, to his eyes. "Look what this gun did to me." Cloud removed the last of the debris and tried to lift Vincent off the ground. He had formed a somewhat large puddle of blood on the platform; it had begun to drip down below him. Slowly, cloud carried Vincent out of the stairwell to the other members waiting outside.  
  
Yuffie let out a cry. "Cloud, you found him!" She ran toward Cloud. "How is he?"  
  
Cloud kept walking. "He needs a hospital. Now." 


	5. Fragile Discovery

::Chapter 5 - Fragile Discovery ::  
  
The emergency vehicle was waiting back at the entrance to the Sector. Vincent was placed in the back immediately. Cloud fell to his knees and gasped for a breath of air. He had accomplished the impossible. The man who'd been soaked in Mako had recovered the lost member of the crew. He wasn't sure if Vincent would live through it. He wasn't sure why he fell so far behind so quickly. None of this seemed to matter now, as he stood up and fell into the vehicle. Barrett and the rest climbed aboard and tried to dust themselves off. Cid pulled the files on Red out of the folder and looked at them. "That $!&@* Hojo, what a maniac!" Everyone turned to him, waiting for an explanation.  
  
Cid kept reading while trying to keep calm. Hojo specifically stated in the report on Red XIII, which Hojo had code-named "Experiment 13-421," that he spent several months evaluating Red, and devising a possibility to produce another of the same species. He stated that the required items he needed were all in hand, and that he had begun to put the mixture of life into its own test tube. The log continued on a day-by-day basis stating new events and discoveries. He stated in one entry that he'd placed the experiment off Shinra grounds, meaning he'd placed it somewhere outside of Midgar. The details of the entry didn't describe where, but only gave a clue that said. "Remember its location near the Village of Gongaga." Cid closed the file and looked at Aerith's. Hojo had less time to experiment on her, therefore there were only a few entries. One that stuck out, dated hours before the rescue, stated "Test subject Cet-01 didn't respond well to death reversal drug. Subject convulsed and vomited, passed out at 00:23 and became conscious again at 01:55. Other side effects included slurred speech, shaking, and insomnia." The entry below it, dated three hours before the rescue stated "Subject has attained normal status. Drug side effects have worn off. Safely tested drug usefulness. Subject was confirmed dead at 06:21 and reanimated at 06:33, thirteen minutes after poison injection. Next test will determine reanimation based upon fatal injury."  
  
Cloud looked away from the report. Aerith had died once before they rescued her? This seemed impossible. No mere Phoenix Down could bring a person back from death. If these reports Hojo had written were true, the visions Cloud had been seeing would be more believable than before. He understood now, why Aerith and Red had been contained in that same chamber upon their arrival. Red was to maul Aerith and kill her, to test the effectiveness of the injected drug. Hojo created a scheme so evil, even he himself ended up becoming a subject. He wanted Aerith, the last of the Cetra to live forever. This may have not been true for death upon injury. Hojo was never theoretically able to test that theory, since Cloud and the others had broken in and saved the two.  
  
Cid tapped Cloud on the shoulder and shoved the report at him. "Read this line here." He pointed to the first entry in the line of few. Cloud looked at it and read it aloud. "I have safely devised another toxin for death prevention. The first successful test was on a member of SOLDIER who went by the name of Sephiroth. He is the son of a Turk whom I killed and tested on years ago. The Turk has been stored away in the old Shinra mansion at Nibelheim. He was the second to receive the treatment. Aside from lack of physical aging, he should be living still to this day. The mother was an assistant of mine who had cheated on me. She tricked me into loving her and then attempted to kill me. I was forced to administer the drug into myself. I was the third test." Cloud stopped reading. "This has to be fake, we killed Hojo AND Sephiroth." Red shook his head. "I pulled this from the very shelf I witnessed Hojo pull it from every single day he'd experiment on me. Everything you find in it is one-hundred percent truth." Cloud's jaw slightly dropped in terror. He finished what was written on the paper. "I'll test on the girl tomorrow. She is the last of the Cetra, and important to the balance of this world." Hojo was trying to prevent Aerith's death from this world? Cloud though. "It couldn't have worked, for Sephiroth made his way North. He needed Aerith dead to accomplish the task." He said, throwing the report back at Cid. Red shook his head. "No, it just means that it took longer for Aerith's body to react to the drug. While she was in death, Sephiroth planned out his attack on this world and nearly completed it." Cloud looked around. "So does this mean, that Aerith, Vincent, Hojo, AND Sephiroth are still alive somewhere?!" Barrett pointed to the back. "Well, we know where Vincent is." Red shook his head yes. "Yes, this means that the other three are out there somewhere. Hojo is mostly likely in the ruins of Shinra Tower. The falling steel could have dismembered him, and actually killed him. The formula for reanimation could not have worked if he had been beheaded." Cloud looked around and then put his head in his folded arms. "I don't know what to do anymore." Tifa put her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it. Cloud leaned in toward her and whispered something and then went back to check on Vincent.  
  
Vincent lay still on the gurney he was put on. He was bleeding from the abdomen, arm, leg, and head. The blood had soaked into the red cloak he was wearing and appeared as if he wasn't even bleeding. His gun lay on the counter near him. The few bullets it contained were thrown into a bowl, to ensure the gun wouldn't fire inside of the vehicle. He appeared to still be breathing, slowly, as if he were in a coma or perhaps asleep. Cloud stared at him for a minute and thought about everything he'd read. If all those things were true, Vincent's body should react to the drug any time now, he thought. What if the drug's effectiveness wore off after one death situation? He'd been killed once already. This brought to Cloud the thought of Aerith. She apparently had died once before as well. He wasn't sure if this was real or not, but Hojo's log explained it rather well. "Dammit Vincent, why did you go back for this WORTHLESS GUN!? Look at you! You got yourself DAMN near KILLED because you played around! Cloud took a vial out of this pocket and poured it onto Vincent. "This better work, dammit, this is my last potion. Yuffie looked at Cloud. She was sitting with Vincent and holding his hand. "What are you still doing back here?" Yuffie smirked and responded, "I'm waiting till he dies so I can take his Materia, jeez, what do you think I'm doing here? I'm staying by his side." Cloud shrugged and walked out of the room. "Good. Stay here."  
  
The vehicle soon arrived back at Kalm. Many workers gathered to hear the story of how they'd survived the collapse of Shinra Tower. Upon hearing the story, the innkeeper gave everyone individual rooms for the night. Vincent was transported to the nearby medical station. Yuffie stayed with him at all times, it seemed. Cloud returned to the Highwind and picked up his Golden Chocobo from the stable. He wouldn't sleep tonight, for he had a long journey ahead of him. He needed answers to many, many things. The time had come to search for the meaning to his visions. If Aerith and Sephiroth were both still alive, how could he save Aerith, and prevent Sephiroth from finishing his plot? He looked at Kalm and then rode off towards the City of Ancients. 


	6. Demanifestation

::Chapter 06 - Demanifestation::  
  
Cloud stared out over the ocean as he rode the chocobo towards the Bone Village. He hoped that the excavation workers would allow him to pass through again, for another trip into the forest. He still had the harp that would allow him to pass through. This time he'd attempt to grab the feisty Materia that never seemed to stay in one spot. He looked back on the coast near Kalm, wiped water off his face, and continued forward toward the north. Just a few more hours, he thought to himself. He'd be at the coast soon enough, and he could make his way to the City of Ancients once more. He wasn't sure what he'd find at the city, but he hoped it would lead to an answer to his unexplained visions.  
  
Cid took a puff from a cigarette and flicked it towards the ground. Why do I even smoke these things? He thought to himself. He was still wearing the has-mat pants that he went to Midgar with. Barrett was asleep inside the cabin of the still-grounded Highwind. The crew was supposed to leave after they woke up on this dreary morning, but there was one problem - they couldn't leave until Cloud was found. No one seemed to spot him leave. Yuffie never left the station where Vincent was being treated. The doctors weren't sure how to handle such a case. His DNA structure had changed so much since the effects of Hojo's tests. The teams of doctors weren't sure how Vincent had survived the collapse, let alone the time in this hospital. Tifa slept on the deck of the ship, and had gotten an overnight shower from the weather storm that had passed through. Red XIII slept in the corner where Cloud would have slept. No one was really sure where Cloud slept at, the previous night before.  
  
Helicopters were flown in from a company in Wutai. These would help in the examining of Shinra Tower's remains. Only a few floors remained standing, and the stairway stopped at 15. If Vincent had been another floor higher, he'd surely be dead. Every reactor was no longer functional. The fire in reactor #4 destroyed its capabilities. These things were no longer useful in a dead city anyhow. Those that survived the destruction now lived in makeshift shelters inside of Kalm's area. Now, there was no distinction between classes. There was no such thing as "lower class" or "high class." These were just people who had lived to tell the stories of how they managed to survive. The inspections of Shinra's remains found that the center pillar, which held most of the structures of the center platform, had partly collapsed. This is what caused the tower's collapse.  
  
Cait Sith hadn't talked in several days, meaning Reeve had disappeared. He was probably helping others somewhere around Kalm, or his controls had been destroyed. Oddly, It was not in its original location. Reeve had to have moved it sometime. It now sat against the front glass that overlooked the front of the ship. It was possible that Barrett or Cid moved it, or perhaps the pilot.  
  
Cloud continued his voyage north, at quick pace. Any minute now, he thought. Any minute he'd be there, ready to walk through that forest again. He could see the coast, barely, ahead in the distance. He guessed it was another 20 minutes or so until he would arrive on the shore. Finally, his answers would be solved. He would understand why he constantly had visions of Aerith, as well as Sephiroth, and also dreams about the former. He had no clue what he'd find at the city, but he was sure he could solve this mystery, and was sure he would do so.  
  
The shore was merely feet away now, as Cloud rushed to reach it. He noticed there were fewer trees surrounding the Bone Village, unlike before. He slowly made his way up the shore upon the Chocobo and dismounted. He walked towards the village, hearing less commotion than usual. The archaeologists who were looking for prehistoric artifacts must've taken the day off, or were perhaps helping with the Midgar situation, he thought. There was a loud chatter emanating from the northern part of the village, as he got closer towards it. There was a bit of equipment strewn about the portion of the village that contained the ever-so-needy storage box. He climbed the makeshift ladder and headed towards the entrance to the forest. There was one problem with this. There was no entrance, nor was there a forest.  
  
The excavation workers had deforested the entire area. Not a tree stood now, and the path to the City of Ancients now was clearly seen. He stopped where the entrance should have been, and stared in awe. The workers who surrounded the area didn't even notice him. They did their jobs, destroying what was left of the forest. The crews didn't stop there, they continued up the path and towards the city itself. Cloud ran for the city center, kicking workers out of his way. He got to the pathway that forked in three directions, each being left, right, and the center, and ran for the center. There was caution tape covering part of the hollow cave that led to the small house where Aerith's lake was. Cloud feared for Aerith's peaceful tomb, for the workers that now surrounded the whole surrounding area may have tampered it with. He stopped at the house's sidewalk-like area, and stared. He hadn't been here in a while. He looked at the lake where Aerith was placed to rest. He could vividly envision himself placing her out in front of him, and watch her slowly submerge into the icy water. What if Aerith really wasn't dead? He thought to himself. She could be alive down there, and no one would even know it. He slowly walked toward the lake, looking down into the water for any sight of Aerith. He was sure she was still down there, in eternal rest, but he wasn't completely sure, after having that vivid dream a few nights before. Cloud thought about the entire last few days' recent events - and then dived into the water.  
  
Cloud began to swim towards the location where Aerith lay. He was sure he could solve this mystery, if nothing else. Slowly, he approached Aerith's body. The water was so cold down here, he thought. Even if she were still alive, she could never survive this. He looked at her face, peaceful as ever, and then grabbed her hand and held it. There was one odd occurrence though - her hand was warm. This startled Cloud. How could her hand be warm? The water was much too cold down here for it to be possible. There was a yellow sparkle that illuminated from their folded hands, which surrounded the two of them. Cloud grinned. She's alive, he thought. Aerith had indeed come to me in a dream! Cloud checked for her pulse, and found a coma-like slow beating. He rushed to get her to the surface.  
  
He carried her towards the surface and swam to the end of the lake. She was breathing, but had somehow gotten a considerable amount of water in her lungs. She needed CPR, but Cloud wasn't too up on the idea. He'd never actually kissed her before, and this, he thought, would be close enough. He shrugged the worries off, and did the best he could, until she coughed and rolled over. She tried to talk, but could only mumble the word "You." Cloud shushed her and looked at the wound she had received from Sephiroth. It was merely a scar now. It was rather large, and deep, but whatever force had kept her alive for this long had healed her while doing so. She tried to stand, but Cloud stopped her and carried her towards the house nearby. While on the way in, she looked up at Cloud and placed her hand against his face. She tried to talk, but was only able to inaudibly say "Thank You" before she leaned against him and held onto him. The Cetra were extinct no more. 


	7. The Pain of Rebirth

::Chapter 07 - The Pain of Rebirth::  
  
Cid stood on the bridge of the Highwind, staring out the front glass. Where the hell did that boy go? He thought, wondering about Cloud's whereabouts. He was chain-smoking one cigarette after the other. Barrett paced back and forth across the lower area of the bridge. Dammit, he thought to himself, why did he have ta' run off like that for? Barrett stared at the floor while walking, not noticing Red XIII's tail, which he stepped on. Nanaki, as his family would call him, growled and then whimpered. Red stood up and crawled out of Barrett's way. Tifa sat curled up in Cloud's little sleeping corner, concerned but hopeful that he hadn't permanently disappeared. Yuffie had returned to the ship for the first time since Vincent had nearly died in the collapse of Shinra Tower. She'd come for mainly things she'd need to stay at the hospital longer, extra clothes - which lacked any huge difference in them, as well as some other necessities. She grabbed what she needed and waved bye to everyone aboard, and returned to where Vincent remained.  
  
Cloud stared out of a small window on the quaint house. He didn't know what to make of anything that had happened in the past few months. He had joined the vigilante group AVALANCHE just for the money. He didn't think he'd become wrapped up in a scheme like this. He pondered AVALANCHE and what it meant to be part of it. In the eyes of many that lived in Midgar, they were no more than terrorists. Many lived in Midgar enjoying life on the top plate, living off of the Mako that the reactors sucked up. All AVALANCHE did was destroy those reactors, in belief that Mako was the soul of the earth, a liquid like blood that was being harnessed and used for energy purposes. He looked over at Aerith, who had slept for twelve hours now, and pondered how things would have been if he hadn't fallen through the roof of the church she was in, let alone bumping into her while fleeing Sector 1's reactor explosion. That explosion was caused by AVALANCHE. What if, the thought, What if I hadn't purchased that one flower? That one rare flower elegantly cared for by this girl selling them on the street. Midgar had a lack of flowers, as well a place to grow them. How did I manage to adventure with her? Surely, he thought, she wanted to explore more of the world. Perhaps she thought she would accomplish that by going with Cloud and the rest.  
  
Aerith was awake now. Cloud had found several towel-like cloths in which he placed around her to help dry her. Her clothes were still damp, but that was the last thing on her mind at the time. Her abdomen hurt, in extreme pain. The wound caused by Sephiroth had indeed become a scar, but the pain continued. It was merely sore, but it was enough to make her cry a bit. She couldn't stand, let alone move a whole lot. She would need to remain here for the time being, until she could move. Her vocal chords hadn't been used in a while, and she lacked the ability to speak full sentences. Her vocal abilities were limited to a few words at a time. Cloud heard her slight moan of pain, and walked towards the room where she lay. He slowly approached the room, peeking in to see how Aerith was.  
  
Aerith lay still on the bed as Cloud walked in. She was awake, and looked at him as he approached her. "Are you okay?" He asked, placing his hand on hers. She nodded and placed her other hand over the wound. "Hurts." She said, with tears in her eyes. Cloud removed his hand and took her other hand away from the wound. "I know. It will go away when you've recovered from the effects of your long slumber." He slowly placed her hand back down. "How did you do it? I mean - how are you alive? Is this another dream?" She tried to grin, but only partly succeeded. "Cast spell. Not dreaming." She coughed. Apparently, she tried to say too much, too fast. Cloud grinned and sat down on the stone bench that was near the bed. "Do you want some different clothes? I have the purple dress with me, from long ago." Aerith tried to laugh. "Your Dress?" Cloud turned red. "Uhh.. yes. That dress." He shook his head and looked at the floor. Why, he thought, why did I even agree to wear a damn dress to save Tifa? Aerith placed her hand on Cloud's hair. "Embarrassed?" Cloud looked up. "Yes. You practically made me wear the thing, after all." Aerith placed her hand under Cloud's chin and raised his eyes up to hers. "Looked so cute!" Cloud looked back at the floor and shook his head no. "I did it to save Tifa, and to prevent you from becoming Don Corneo's love slave." Aerith brought Cloud's head back to her eye level. "Brave." Cloud took her hand and held it between his. He shook his head no, once again. "I'm not nearly as brave as you. You faked death to save us all." Aerith pulled her hand back and placed it on Cloud's face. "Still sweet." Cloud smirked and placed her hand back on the bed. "Sleep for now, I'll go find the other clothes." With that he got up, and walked out of the room.  
  
"When can we leave!?" Shouted Yuffie, at the others. "Vincent can walk again, so we can go!" Barrett shook his head no. "We haven't been here just because of Vincent." Yuffie looked confused. "Why else are we still here for, then?" Cid shrugged. "Cloud. He's missing." Yuffie was amazed. "What?! Where did he go?! He's okay, isn't he?!" Cid shrugged. "We don't know. No one has any idea where he went. I talked to people in town, who say they saw someone leave here on a Chocobo. "Cloud?" Yuffie asked. Cid nodded. "Probably. They said he headed either North, or Northwest." Tifa looked at Cid. "Aerith. Oh no. He actually thinks these visions he's been seeing are meaningful. I talked to Vincent's doctor. He said recovering from Mako poisoning can often make someone see hallucinations." Cid looked at Tifa. "Well, where should we go? We need to get him before he does anything stupid. I swear, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Sometimes that boy will do something smart, and then the next, he'll go and do something crazy." Tifa nodded. "The City of Ancients. That's where Aerith was put to rest. He had to have gone there." Yuffie looked excited. "We're finally leaving!? Woo!" She left the ship to go get Vincent. Cid commanded the pilot begin takeoff procedure. Immediately thereafter, the ship began its startup. Vincent was slowly taken to a bed in the cabins of the ship where he could lay. He could walk, but the side effects of the drugs given to him counteracted with his own mutated DNA. This caused him to get dizzy and vomit. Yuffie helped Vincent to his bed and then lay down on the bed across from it. "You think we'll really find Cloud?" Vincent coughed. "Don't know." The ship took off a few minutes later, full on fuel, with everyone aboard with the exception of Cloud. They headed for the north, and would arrive in about an hour.  
  
Cloud had to help Aerith with her clothes. This was something he was nervous with doing, but for the fear of hypothermia, he did the best he could. She seemed to be as nervous as he was. The whole operation was done in complete silence. The dress fit Aerith, but was a bit long, for being made for Cloud's height. It had been two days since Cloud had brought her back from the water. She could talk much better now, but her voice hadn't fully healed. The pain from the wound had subsided. It was still noticeable, but was not nearly enough to make her cry. She could stand, and walk, but even this was weakened. She often needed Cloud's help moving around. Slowly, he thought, slowly she'll recover. We can leave and return to Midgar when she's recovered. Aerith stopped and looked at Cloud. "Sometime, will you tell me what happened after Sephiroth injured me?" Cloud grinned. "Sure. We can wait for the others and they can help tell you too. A lot happened after you were left here. We all thought you had really died. We didn't know you'd protect yourself with Shell, to lessen the blow. I have one question though. How did you not move down there, until I dived down there to get you?" Aerith placed her finger over his lips. "Later. I'll tell you later." She hugged him and then stopped. "Cloud, where's my mother?" Cloud shook his head. "We're pretty sure she's in Kalm with Marlene." Aerith sighed in relief and wrapped Cloud's hands around her. "Can we go to Midgar, and see what's left?" Cloud stopped. "Midgar. There's not much left at Midgar. The tower collapsed on us while we were in it. It almost killed Vincent." Aerith squeezed Cloud tighter. "Oh my! Is everyone alright!?" Cloud nodded and walked with Aerith towards the porch of this small house. "Yeah, as far as I know, Vincent will survive." Aerith nodded. "Good. I would have worried if my calls to you during your sleep would have stopped." Cloud looked at Aerith, as she laughed.  
  
The Highwind approached the shore near Bone Village and noticed the forest had been cleared. "Can we just land there?" Tifa asked. "Pilot, land us where those trees once were." The pilot slowly brought the ship down into its landing position. The excavation crews that had been clearing out the forest in search of artifacts had stopped. They had found what they were looking for. Cloud had dropped it when he noticed the forest was gone. The item they were looking for this entire time was the harp. It was useless now, for the forest it soothed with music had been destroyed.  
  
The group headed towards the City of Ancients. Yuffie took every sight in, for this time she actually got to travel with. "I can't wait! I may actually get to meet this 'Aerith' that Cloud's always talked about!" Tifa looked at Yuffie. "Yuffie. she died." The group had headed down the center path, which contained the small house. Yuffie looked up in shock. "Tifa..?" Tifa looked at Yuffie. "What?" Yuffie pointed at the house. "If Aerith died - who is that up on the porch with Cloud?" Tifa looked up ahead. She could barely make out the person standing next to Cloud. "Oh my! Aerith!?" 


	8. Procrastination

::Chapter 08 - Procrastination::  
  
Tifa collapsed at the sight of Aerith. The others rushed to check on her, and help her into the house. Cloud tore some of his sleeve off and soaked it in the lake water, so Tifa could have a rag for her head. Cid, Yuffie, and Barrett all surrounded Aerith, asking her for details into how she was alive. Red XIII lay on the porch, asleep, while Vincent sat and stared out into space. Cloud sat by Tifa and pondered several thoughts, while he waited for the others to learn what he had learned from Aerith. He wondered what had happened to the White Materia. He wondered if the visions of Sephiroth's specter would continue on. He had wanted to explore the house some more. knowing that below it lay the expansive crystal castle- type structure, and the place where Sephiroth had attacked Aerith.  
  
Cloud walked around the small house, peeking over every once in a while at Aerith, who seemingly had been resurrected from her own grave. It was a rather funny feeling inside, knowing that the events of the past several months made absolutely no sense. Everything had contradicted itself, in one way or another, from Sephiroth's manipulation of himself, to his manipulation of the entire planet. Nothing made sense now that Aerith was alive again. Cloud walked to the front porch of the house, where Vincent sat, and where Nanaki lay. "I want to go to Nibelheim." Vincent asked, still looking off into the sky. "Why? Are you planning on leaving now that it's over?" Cloud asked trying to focus on whatever Vincent had his eyes on. "No, I just need to look in the laboratory in the basement. There's a book I need to find." Cloud looked down at Vincent. "Can't we just buy another one?" Vincent shook his head. "No. This isn't your standard book. This is a collection of Gast's writings, much like the Hojo book found in the tower." Cloud shook his head and sighed. "Not this again. I'm telling you right now, if that mansion goes to collapse, I'm leaving you in it." Vincent looked away from his fixed position. "You won't need to." He immediately went back to his fixed stare. "Cloud walked back in towards the others. "Vincent wants to go to Nibelheim." Cloud walked up to the others and stopped. "What? Why?" Barrett asked, while scratching his head. "He's looking for a book." Cid and Yuffie sighed. "Not this again. Why can't we just buy another?" Cloud shook his head. "He told me it's a journal, like Red found on Hojo." Aerith stopped Cloud from continuing on. "Hojo had a journal? Can I see it?" Tifa was awake now, but she still remained on the bed. "It's in the Highwind. Can we go back there? I'm getting a little creeped out from this house."  
  
A few hours later, everyone headed out of the Ancient City, to the now deforested area where the ship sat awaiting command. Reeve had once again resumed control of Cait Sith, after being absent for so long. He greeted Aerith; shocked she was alive, and asked as everyone else had as to how it was possible. Cid ordered the trained pilot to prepare to fly toward Nibelheim, in hopes that this trip would finalize their post-Meteor adventures. Cid left the Bridge to have a cigarette, and Cloud walked with Aerith to the Deck as well. "Remember when I said that I wanted to ride on this ship?" Cloud nodded. "Of course. Now you'll finally get to." Aerith smiled gleefully and squeezed Cloud. "I'm afraid of flying - I mean, I've never flown before so - I mean - Cloud, I'm going to freak out!!"  
  
Cloud forcibly loosened Aerith's grip and brought her arms up to hug her. "You're going to be fine. It's not that bad. Cid has an excellently trained pilot flying us, right Cid?" "Sure thing kid, he's a grade A pilot all the way." Cid took several puffs off of one cigarette before he went back in. "Oh. You probably don't want to have her out here when we take off. It's going to be rough." Cloud nodded. Cid made his way back in, noticing Yuffie sitting in her usual spot. "Getting prepared a bit early, aren't we?" Yuffie looked up at Cid. "I feel sick already." Outside Cloud and Aerith were enjoying the last few moments before takeoff. Cloud looked around while holding Aerith. Everything in his eyes seemed too surreal. "Come on, let's get back inside." Aerith nodded and led the way.  
  
Cid issued orders to the pilot, as the Highwind slowly departed the ground. "Destination - Nibelheim. You've been there several times before, so you know the way." The pilot nodded and pressed several buttons in what appeared to be a random pattern. "Yes sir! ETA: Two hours, twenty-eight minutes. Engaging thermal thrusters, Sir." Cid walked away and sat down in one of the co-pilot chairs. "That's enough, pilot, I don't need any more status briefings." The pilot yelled a prominent "Yes sir!" And went back to work silently. The Highwind was now in the air, while Cloud and Aerith sat in one of the bed lofts.  
  
"I'm scared, Cloud. I hate flying already." Cloud held her hand. "It's okay, I'm here. There's nothing to worry about. We've been flying this ship with absolutely no flaws." Aerith squeezed his hand harder with every shake of the cabin. "I know, I know, but I'm still so scared." Cloud hushed her and put his arms around her. "It's going to be fine. You're going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine." A turbulent bump made Cloud fall off the lofted bed. Aerith yelled. "Cloud!? Are you alright?!" Cloud laughed and reached up and pulled Aerith down on top of him. "If I'm gonna fall, you're going with me." He smiled. She fixed her hair so she could see, and looked around. "Cloud! That hurt!" She looked at him, as they lay on the floor. He was silent, looking right back at her. "Aerith, are you okay?" She nodded. "I am now." Cloud rubbed his hand softly across her back. "How so?" "Well, I'm here now, with you." Her entire relationship with Cloud flashed before her eyes as she leaned in and kissed him.  
  
"Dammit!" Cid shouted, from the Bridge. "What do you mean, 'We lost a thruster'? His pilot gulped. "It -- died. Don't worry, we can still get where we need to from here, it just needs replaced soon. I'll just switch to the backup thrusters." Cid threw a chair. "We don't have that kind of money! Do YOU have enough money to replace it!?" The pilot appeared to be sweating bullets. "No, sir, no I don't." "Well then we better start thinking of alternatives, then shouldn't we!?" The trail of smoke coming from thruster #2 created a footstep pattern of sorts, as the Highwind headed towards it's final destination - Nibelheim. 


	9. One Winged Highwind

:: Chapter 09 - One Winged Highwind::  
  
Smoke trailed from behind the Highwind as it made its decent into the area of Nibelheim. The turbulence was fierce, causing everyone aboard to grasp onto anything bolted down. The pilot began emergency landing procedures, frantically pressing buttons and pulling levers. Cid watched as his ship nearly completed its final voyage, with its engine ablaze. He peered out at the failing engines, noticing small fires in their compartments. The fires were spreading through electrical means, engulfing the Highwind's wingspan. Cloud held Aerith, and she held on even harder. She was crying, afraid, worried, and fearful that this would be the end. Cloud wiped the tears from her eyes and told her "It's going to be okay." She only squeezed him harder. She looked at him; he seemed so calm, and collected, probably right in his assumption. She was glad to be in his arms, afraid of this; her first flight on a ship she thought would be wonderfully flyable.  
  
Tifa looked around for an emergency escape route, parachutes being the only option she could find. There was a crew to chute ratio problem - there were more people than parachutes. She grabbed what she could and ran to the bridge. "We can use these, but only 7 people can make it." she trailed off. Cid looked around; Tifa, Barrett, Cloud, Aerith, Himself, Nanaki, and Vincent, that made seven. His Pilot and Cait wouldn't make it. "Are you SURE there are no more chutes; not a one!?" Tifa shook her head 'No.' Cid looked at his pilot. "Sir, I know what must be done." The pilot said, not looking away from his tasks. Cid stood in silence. "Are you telling me my pilot's willing to commit suicide?!" The pilot nodded. "Go, sir. Go NOW." Cid refused to accept this response. "Why can't you just go with us?" "I need to pilot the ship so it doesn't crash land into a populated area." The pilot said, looking away from Cid. The cigarette that was in Cid's mouth landed on the floor, as Cid looked in disbelief. He couldn't believe the sacrifice that this pilot of his was willing to make. Cait could do it if not for the lack of parachutes.  
  
Barrett brought Cloud and Aerith their respective chutes, and told them what was going to happen. They then gathered up anything they needed and headed for the deck. Everyone was waiting there, chutes on, ready to jump. Nibelheim was merely miles away, as the Highwind slowly descended into the area. "Okay, when we jump, count to five and then pull the cord. Everybody got that? Everyone nodded as they jumped off the side. Cloud looked around as he noticed the whiteness of the sky, filled with clouds, the air rushing around him, his hand holding hers, knowing they'd soon be on the ground. He looked around, his vision becoming vaguely colored, sounds becoming nearly non-existent, the labeling on his parachute becoming a foreign text.  
  
"FIVE!" The time had come, the chutes were opened. Those who had jumped watched the Highwind sail into the mountains of Nibelheim where it crashed in a fiery inferno. Cid solemnly saluted his lost pilot. Smoke rose from the location of the crash, as the group started landing a minute later. Each one touched down with no problems, except for Vincent, who landed harder because of his inability to operate the parachute while this wounded. Shortly after everyone landed and detached their respective parachutes everyone gathered around Cid.  
  
"Before we go in to town, I want to go over to the crash site." Cid stuttered in disbelief as he slowly walked away from the group and towards the wreckage. The group followed. It was unclear at this point exactly what was lost besides the robot Cait Sith and Cid's unnamed pilot. The chocobo was most certainly gone, but Cloud could easily breed another at the farm.  
  
Yuffie sat crouched in disbelief. "My materia; everyone's materia; gone."  
  
Barrett stood without saying a word. His thoughts were on Marlene, and how he'd get back to see her now that this had happened.  
  
Tifa sat on the ground with her hands over her eyes. This was more than enough for her to handle. Behind her hands, tears streamed down her face.  
  
"Let's get moving... we've got to get that checked and get back to town. I don't want to have to see the wreckage any longer than necessary." Cid spoke as the others slowly caught up to him.  
  
The walk wasn't far from the edge of town. The pilot barely managed to divert the collision course by about five hundred yards from the Shinra Mansion. Surely if it were closer Nibelheim would've been destroyed. As the group got closer to the wreckage, the heat intensified. Nanaki eventually stopped and let the others go without him, as did Vincent.  
  
Upon reaching the wreckage, it was clear that not much was left. Fuel which had leaked out of its compartment had coated itself from the top of the mountain to the bottom where the remnants lay. An amazing trail of fire that soared to the sky was visible as far as the eye could see. The aircraft itself had split into three parts. One part was the tail, the second was the sky deck, and the third was the main bridge, with one partial wing remaining.  
  
Cid located the charred remains of Cait Sith II, as well as the chocobo which Cloud had bred. There were no signs of his pilot, although he found a photograph which had been partially burnt. The photograph was of a woman and two kids; presumably the pilot's wife and children.  
  
After salvaging various materials, the group slowly headed back towards town to find a place to stay. Tomorrow there would be a need to find new modes of transportation. There was even the possibility of traveling by walking, but the transportation problems were the least of anyone's concerns at this point. Tomorrow itself was the least of anyone's concerns.  
  
It had been one hell of a week so far. Tifa prayed it didn't get worse. 


	10. A Hidden Agenda

::Chapter 10 - A Hidden Agenda::  
  
Rain fell now, a mere hour after the Highwind met its doom. The water helped extinguish the flames that the wreckage created. Smoke poured over Nibelheim as the survivors made it back to town, soaking wet. Their faces had been covered with soot, but were now clean thanks to the water that fell from the sky.  
  
"Does anyone live at your old house?" Tifa asked to Cloud, assuming they could stay there for the night.  
  
"Well, when we were here last, someone lived there. but not my mom." Cloud said to her while scratching his head. He wasn't sure why Nibelheim felt like home again, even though he knew, and watched the town burn to the ground. Perhaps he would walk in and see his mom standing there waiting for him, ready to hear the stories of how he helped saved the world from destruction. Perhaps no one lived there now, and his old house would be deserted as the mansion that was nearby. The mansion itself looked as old and deserted as ever. It was clear no one had dared go near it.  
  
"We'll settle down for the night and go into the mansion tomorrow morning." Vincent said, staring at the mansion's door. "I know none of you want to venture in there at night."  
  
Everyone nodded in unison for Vincent's decision, and followed Cloud towards his childhood home. Slowly they approached the doorstep, waiting for Cloud to investigate the house for any signs of life. "I want to go in first, everyone stay here." Cloud said, while continuing forward. He slowly walked towards the door and reached for the handle, not knowing what was on the other side. Without hesitation he turned the handle and opened the door.  
  
The house was indeed deserted. Cobwebs covered most everything from the windows to the staircase. There were no signs of Cloud's mom, nor were there any items that would indicate that she had ever been there. There were no photos, no clothing. No personal items which belonged to Cloud or his mother. It was apparent to Cloud now, that Shinra had recreated Nibelheim, everything from the water tower to the inn, to Tifa's and Cloud's own houses were recreated to match exactly as they were before the fire. This didn't seem to bother Cloud as much as wondering WHY the town was recreated and now deserted. The option was given to stay somewhere else, for Cloud's sake, but he insisted that it was all right to stay here.  
  
Tifa started a fire in the small fireplace, and the rest of the night was spent drying off. Tomorrow the expedition would begin deep into the basement of Shinra Mansion, in search of Professor Gast's writings. These writings would hold the stories Vincent longed for, and this is all he thought about as he drifted away to sleep.  
  
The sun rose earlier than usual that day, the tenth day since Meteor's destruction of Midgar. From this side of the world, you couldn't even notice that anything had happened. Everything near Nibelheim appeared as calm and as peaceful as it did weeks ago, before Meteor even appeared.  
  
Inside the small house, everyone started waking up thanks to the beams of sunlight protruding through various windows. Cloud and Aerith now slept a good five feet from each other, apparently rolling in opposite directions during slumber. Red slept as far away from the fireplace as possible, and Tifa slept as close to it as she could without dying of the heat. Vincent got up during the night, and now slept on the stairs. Cid slept on Cloud's bed, and Barrett slept on Cloud's mother's vacant bed. Yuffie slept in the guestroom alone.  
  
An hour or so later, everyone was wide-awake, ready to venture into the Shinra Mansion. It was agreed that a time limit of 10 minutes be put in place to ensure there was no wasting of time. After ten minutes, if nothing was found this mission was a failure. There was no returning for safety reasons. Vincent didn't need to take the risk of getting injured again, even though it seemed a fair risk to him.  
  
The main door to the mansion itself was barred shut, and it appeared to have been that way since their last visit. Someone must've assumed they were trespassing and made sure no one else followed suit. Cloud found a crowbar and pried the wooden planks off the door.  
  
Inside the main floor things appeared just as they had before, only now there was twice as much dust on everything. Everyone carried their own personal flashlight, as they made their way down the spiral steps that lead to the basement. The air was stale, musty, and humid. At the bottom, a few bats flew up towards the staircase, past Cloud and the rest, scaring the girls. Vincent stopped near the room where his coffin was kept. He turned and ventured into there. Inside, the lid remained where it was when he was found a while back. Vincent walked over and pushed aside his coffin to reveal a small hole in the ground, which housed a black safe.  
  
"Gast never mentioned this safe before, but Hojo slipped about it once. I don't know the combination, but if we search the lab over there we might find something." Vincent said, dusting off the safe. "Supposedly this safe holds everything important Gast kept a log of. We should be able to find out what was done to me that allows me to heal faster than normal humans."  
  
"Well, let's go find that combination." Cid muttered as he headed out of the coffin room. "Where is this room exactly? This door down the hall?"  
  
"Yeah, that's the lab." Vincent said, hobbling down the hall to the other door.  
  
"Remember, we've only got six minutes to find this combo, or else we've got a safe we can't do a thing with." Cloud said, beginning to go through books.  
  
"Split up. You three go search that end, we'll search this end. Red, search the floor for anything you might think could be it."  
  
Books began flying as everyone frantically searched for this six-digit combination, with only five minutes remaining. Logs were thrown about, individual pieces of paper were thrown into various piles. Potential number combinations were stashed for using. Tensions flared as time winded down. The number of potential combinations rose, as time ran out.  
  
"Alright, we've been in here ten minutes. Let's get out before something caves in on us. We've got about 2 dozen number combinations to try, so we'll just have to go with what we've got. or find a way to break the seal." Cid trailed off while leading everyone out of the lab and back towards the staircase. "Let's go, let's go. I don't want to stay down here any longer than we have to."  
  
Footsteps pounded on the wooden steps as everyone quickly made their way up towards the first floor. Barrett led, carrying the safe, followed by Vincent, Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, Aerith and Cloud. Red left early, unable to stand the heat. A minute later everyone surfaced back on the main floor near the entrance to the basement.  
  
As Cloud stepped off the final step, a lout rumbling could be heard. The spiral steps themselves crumbled and fell apart, falling down the round stairwell they were housed.  
  
Heads turned and peeked down the hole watching the stairs smack the basement floor.  
  
"See. Another minute down there and we would've been killed." Cid said, in amazement as he dropped his cigarette out of his mouth. 


	11. Blazing On

::Chapter 11 – Blazing On::  
  
Walking towards Cloud's old home, materials in hand, the team had discovered their next and hopefully final target was to head to the burned down reactor at Gongaga. Before that would happen, there would need to be a mode of transportation available, and a night's rest. Cloud slept uneasy, and woke up before everyone else. When he awoke, something didn't seem right. Things seemed out of place, but he would worry about this later on after he rested some more. According to the clock on the desk near his bed, his slumber wasn't but four hours long, not nearly enough to function normally on. He passed back out and remained there for another five hours.  
  
Waking up for a second time, he woke up on the main deck, where everyone was waiting. Something was off; no one was talking about the trip to Gongaga. The Highwind itself had crashed just a day earlier, how could it be sitting here parked in one piece? The ship wasn't near Nibelheim either; it was parked outside of Kalm. The current main topic was where to go to now, even though it had been agreed that Gongaga was indeed the next destination. Looking around, he noticed Vincent's injuries were fresher than he'd remembered. It was as if time itself had reversed, and they'd never left The Midgar site. Perhaps they had, and had just landed here temporarily, but it didn't make sense to Cloud as to why they didn't know where to go next, let alone why the ship was in one piece.  
  
"What the hell's going on here?" Cloud said, with a dazed look on his face. "We're trying to figure out where to go next. You got any ideas?" Cid said, while smoking. "What are you talking about? I thought we had agreed on going to Gongaga?" Cloud said, scratching his hair and rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Head to Gongaga, eh? What's so special about that run-down village?" Cid said, flicking the ashes from this cigarette. "What do you mean special? What about the papers, and the book, and Aerith?" Cloud said, slowly starting to lose himself. "What the hell? You got hit on the head hard back there in Midgar, didn't you? Aerith died months ago, we all watched her die by the hand of Sephiroth. What kind of fairy tale have you been living in?" Cid said, putting out his now expired cigarette. "Wha...? But... we.. I.. the lake... still alive.. then nibel.. the book...the basement.." Cloud was sputtering his words now, unaware of what was going on. He was sure that this was just a dream; he would wake up and be in Nibelheim, ready to head to Gongaga. Aerith would be alive and well, at his side, telling him to wake up.  
  
There was only one problem. It wasn't a dream. Something had happened, they'd gone back in time, or this was just some kind of déjà vu, but these were all wrong. Cloud had simply been dreaming this entire time. It was the morning after the Midgar tower collapse, and he had suffered a strange concussion to the rear of his head, which most likely caused his unusual dream. The dream had felt so real, every bit of it, he accepted the fact that it was, just like he'd accepted the identity of Zack. Cloud thought about taking the chocobo and heading north, but he, for some reason, knew what he would find. He knew that Aerith wouldn't be there alive. He knew that the papers in Nibelheim were indeed existent, and he knew that Gongaga seemed like a good place to head. Somehow, he knew deep inside.  
  
"So where should we head? Got any ideas, anyone?" Cid asked the surrounding crew, with a lost look on his face. "Gongaga, Let's go to Gongaga." Cloud said, almost certain that something, anything would be found. "Fine, Gongaga it is." Cid said, giving in to Cloud's demand.  
  
The Highwind took off, in the direction of Gongaga. It would be there in minutes, and finally, all of this could end. Cloud could figure out why he had been dreaming all of those dreams about Aerith, and what made Gongaga so special. Behind the ship stood the few floors of the once great Midgar Tower, and its surrounding city. The ashes and dust from the collapse had just begun to settle, which made the sky hazy.  
  
Within minutes, the ship touched down in the village near the Gongaga reactor. Smoke was billowing from the reactor, which struck a chord with everyone as odd. They made it a point to visit once breakfast was served. Breakfast wasn't quite breakfast, and involved a few pieces of pork with a few fried chocobo eggs. Before breakfast was over, air raid sirens started going off from out of nowhere. They seemed to come from the reactor itself, seeing as the village never had any type of alert system installed.  
  
Cloud walked down to the reactor himself, and stopped shortly before reaching the fence which was nearby. A piece of Meteor had struck the reactor, apparently broken off from the earlier clash. The piece of meteor itself wasn't what caught his eye though; it was what was in and around it. Located within an opening of this small chunk of Meteor appeared to be a head of some sort, but the head had six tentacles coming out of where its neck should've been. Each tentacle went in its own direction and stopped at six round human sized eggs.  
  
"Barrett. Tifa. Cid. Vincent. Yuffie. Cait." Cloud mumbled, looking down at these six monstrosities. He began to shout their names now, more aware of what was actually going on. "Barrett! Tifa! Cid! Vincent! Yuffie! Cait! Get over here and look at this!" With that, everyone came running down the village path, towards Cloud. "Oh shit." Barrett said. "Shit....Shit...Oh fuck. We've got to do something about this, right now." "Cloud, how did you know about this?" Cid asked, slightly confused. "I didn't, but when I had what I guess was a dream, we went and found Aerith alive, and after that we went to Nibelheim where we discovered that Meteor was attracted to three other sources of Mako; The Mt. Nibel Reactor, the Corel Reactor, and this Reactor. Apparently chunks of Meteor crashed into each of the reactors, leaving behind this alien life form and its eggs. The only way to know for sure which reactors contain these life forms though, is to travel to each one." Cloud spoke, as if he could remember the dream frame by frame. "So what do we need to do here?" Yuffie asked, shaking her head "It's simple. We need to destroy everything you see before you, before whatever this is hatches." Cloud responded, slowly getting closer to the alien. "No, you guys stay here, I want to examine this for myself." Cloud said, slowly getting closer, before being stopped in his footsteps. He looked up and stared at what was, or at least, what he assumed was a ghost.  
  
It wasn't just any ghost. It was Aerith. 


	12. Infestation 1

::Chapter 12 – Infestation #1::  
  
Cloud stared in awe at the apparition of what was apparently Aerith.  
  
"Cloud, what is it?" Tifa said, staring at a lifeless Cloud.  
  
"It's her, only it's not her... Does that make sense?" Cloud responded, still staring.  
  
"It can't be her, Cloud. You know it isn't her." Barrett yelled, as if to snap Cloud out of his trance.  
  
"You're right. I just can't get the image out of my head." Cloud said, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Well, we can't see anything, so you have to be strong and fight it. Fight it, Cloud." Tifa said, cheering on Cloud.  
  
"Aerith... I know all I've wanted is for you to be alive again, here with me, but now I've finally come to accept the truth. You are dead. I will go on continuing my life, and I will see you again once I am gone from this world. Until then, I don't need to look back on events and think I could've changed any of them. I love you, Aerith... we all do. Therefore, I know this ghost I see in front of me isn't Aerith. You're not Aerith! You're just an illusion." Cloud said; eyes closed, fists clenched.  
  
The ghost faded away. It was now possible to explore the ruins of this reactor and kill whatever seemed to be living inside. The air raid sirens had stopped now, but since they'd stopped, it had started raining. One bright red dot emanated from the reactor area itself. Whatever it was, it was harvesting Mako at the source.  
  
As the crew got closer, they noticed whatever had landed here was much larger than previously indicated. In certain areas, there were a few small tentacles sticking out of open holes. In Cloud's mind, they resembled the tentacles of the mighty Marlboro, only not as many.  
  
"Cid, do we have any explosives on the ship?" Cloud said, plotting the obvious.  
  
"We have a couple plastik, and the detonators for them." Cid said, scratching his chin.  
  
"Bring one here. Let's scare him out of his home." Cloud turned and waited for the plastik.  
  
Cid ran back to the ship, and re-appeared a few minutes later with a block and a small device which had wires running out of it into the large block.  
  
"Now, chances are it's eating off the Mako lines, so if we do this fast enough it won't even notice, but be prepared for a tough fight." Cloud said, sitting the detonator down, and placing the plastik inside a crevasse near the red beam. He could feel the alien sucking away at the planet's energy. He quickly made his way back to where the detonator was, and dove for the ground. "Everyone lay down, preferably behind something." A few seconds later a loud explosion could be heard, as large pieces of metal collided with each other. A large dust cloud formed where the reactor once was.  
  
A few minutes later, as things began to calm down, everyone emerged from their temporary shelters to see what had become of the alien life form.  
  
"Cloud! It's Gone!" Cid yelled, pointing into the large bombing area.  
  
"What?!" Cloud yelled, quickly looking around the open area. There was a large hole, but an even larger tunnel. The alien had been scared away, not out into the open. They peered over the edge for a second, reassuring what Cid had said. "Goddamnit, Now what?!" Cloud shouted, dropping onto the ground, and sitting there, as if he'd been defeated.  
  
Although the creature had escaped, it was obvious it had been injured. Small pieces of the creature's flesh and blood remained, splattered onto a large sheet of metal near where the large red eye once was. Some of the blood had dripped down the shiny metal, forming a puddle on the ground. Smoke and dust still remained, although not quite as badly as immediately after the explosion. It was obvious the explosion caused quite a stir.  
  
"Well, I guess we should head back. There are two more places meteor was attracted to. I suppose we check those out." Cloud said, still sitting.  
  
"What about that "Aerith being dead" thing?" Tifa said, sitting next to Cloud.  
  
"Well, what if there ARE other things at the other two? We found something here; there might be something at the others." Cloud responded, slowly getting to his feet. "Let's go. We've got two other places to go."  
  
"Sure. So where should we go now, Corel or Mt. Nibel?" Barrett said, walking back towards the ship.  
  
"You pick, Barrett." Cloud said, shrugging.  
  
"Well, I wanna know if home's ok. Let's go there." Barrett responded, making his way into the ship.  
  
"Alright, Corel it is. Everyone know what's up?" Cid asked, looking around. A monotonous "Yes" could be heard from everyone, almost instantaneously.  
  
The Highwind was up into the sky once more, headed for its next stop. Hopefully the incident here was a fluke, and a coincidence that Cloud had been warned of it beforehand. A feeling in his stomach said otherwise. Cloud had a feeling there would be something there at the second site. What would it be though? Another alien? Another Jenova? There were many possibilities.  
  
The Highwind would need to stop at the open field near the town of Corel before the crew would be walking the infamous railroad tracks back to the reactor. A minute later, the Highwind touched down just outside of the small town. The crew made their way into town. Barrett was welcomed with open arms, after saving the town from complete destruction a few weeks earlier. Everyone stocked up on the necessities and headed down the railroad tracks that lead towards the reactor. The Corel and Mt. Nibel reactors were now the only two active Mako reactors left on the planet. AVALANCHE had done one hell of a job, but not without assistance. Not necessarily good assistance either.  
  
The crew made their way out of Corel's town, and down the railroad track path. Shortly after starting, Cid stopped and looked down the track, and took a puff off a cigarette. He sighed and started walking to catch up with the others. "Ah damnit; here we go again." 


	13. Infestation 2

::Chapter 13 – Infestation #2::  
  
It had been almost an hour now since the crew had started down the path to the Corel Reactor. They were almost there, but the walk seemed like it took forever. It felt more like a day than an hour. They had stopped and rested a few times, which only further delayed their getting to the reactor. In the distance you could see the top of the Reactor. From this far back it appeared to be functioning normally, with no problems whatsoever.  
  
Upon slowly approaching the bridge just before the reactor, the crew stopped. The reactor was far from fine, and much farther from functional than previously thought. Barrett stopped in his footsteps, and stared at the mess which had been created. A giant piece of Meteor had broken away and landed here, off to the side of the reactor. There was debris everywhere, on the track they were walking on, and on parts of the reactor itself. Inside the rock lay six more eggs. Cloud quickly ran and smashed them with his foot. A pale green substance stuck to the bottom of his boot.  
  
"I should've just exploded these damn things like we did back at Gongaga." He looked at the bottom of his boot before scraping it on the nearby piece of Meteor.  
  
"Should we use the plastik here as well? Cid asked, almost grabbing the explosives, as if Cloud were to immediately say yes.  
  
"No. I want to see what happens if we try to provoke it." Cloud said, removing his Sword from its harness. Everyone looked at him, and knew what was about to happen. Each drew his or her weapon.  
  
"Just say the word, Cloud." Tifa said, making sure her gloves were adjusted.  
  
"I don't know what you are, or where you came from, but you're not staying here." Cloud yelled, running towards the alien.  
  
Just as quickly as he ran, one large tentacle snapped around, striking Cloud, sending him flying backwards. Vincent fired his gun, tearing off the end of the alien tentacle. Blood poured out of the open wound only long enough for it to heal back. Barrett fired his weapon, cutting off an entire tentacle, just as he was grabbed and thrown in the same direction as Cloud. Yuffie threw her Conformer directly into the glowing red eye of the beast, causing it to let out a loud wailing noise, before falling back into the hole it had dug itself. Cid jumped off one portion of the rock and stabbed the beast in the eye using his lance. Tifa hit the underbelly of the alien six times before being grabbed by one tentacle and thrown aside. Cloud, back on his feet now, ran at the beast, and shoved the end of his sword into the already wounded eye area. Again the beast wailed, as blood flowed out of the now punctured optic cavity. Just as victory was assured, the alien beast let out another wail, only this time it sent out a massive white shockwave, causing everyone in sight to drop back to the ground.  
  
"What the hell just happened..?" Cid asked, crawling to his feet.  
  
"I don't know. Someone help me up." Cloud asked, nearly out of breath.  
  
"Where's the alien?" Tifa asked, crawling over to the empty hole where this battle had just taken place.  
  
"It's not there?" Cloud asked, getting to his feet, and placing his sword back into its harness. "It ran away, just like the last one. Only this one knows about us, the last one didn't."  
  
Barrett stood in once place, staring at the remains of the now defunct Mako reactor. "Well, 'least there'll be no more Mako harvestin' in Corel. Now maybe things'll get back to normal." He turned and walked back to meet with the others.  
  
Twice now, the vision in Cloud's dream had been right... two reactors, two aliens. What purpose did these aliens have? Were they just part of Meteor's design? Were they something more, like a Jenova clone? Perhaps they were sent to replace Jenova if something were to happen to it. Nothing made sense anymore, not since the collapse of Shinra tower.  
  
"So I guess that's a given we're going to Mt. Nibel now?" Cid asked, starting the fire on a new cigarette.  
  
Cloud nodded, and kept walking back towards Corel.  
  
"Yeah, I know, it was a stupid question." Cid replied, choking down his cigarette.  
  
"We should stop and stay somewhere before heading to Mt. Nibel." Tifa suggested, before being silenced.  
  
"We don't have enough time to stay anywhere. We need to hurry. The trip to the Mt. Nibel reactor alone is going to be a few hours." Cloud said, making haste.  
  
Almost another hour later, the crew reached the small town of Corel once more, ready for another trip, this time to the cold mountainous reactor at the top of Mount Nibel. Perhaps it would all end here, perhaps not. One way or the other, this would have to be the final destination. There were no more reactors mentioned in Cloud's dream. There were no other places to go, people to see. This dawned on Cloud as he stepped foot onto the Highwind. Whatever happened here would either be the end of all the new mysteries which had arisen, or it would leave everyone clueless, with no other ideas of what to do, or where to go. Cloud took one last breath, and hopped aboard.  
  
A few minutes later the Highwind was once more in the air, ready to return to Nibelheim, hopefully to end this, once and for all. A moment later the Highwind left the Corel region, in transit to Nibelheim. A large bit of turbulence was felt mid-flight, causing everyone at the bridge to fall and slide around.  
  
"Son of a bitch!" Cid yelled, getting back up and running to the ships' navigation controls. After looking around for a second he looked at his pilot. "What the hell is going on now!?"  
  
"Sir, we've got system failures in engines 1, 2, and 5. Everything appears normal on this screen here, but that screen there says otherwise. Engines 1,2 and 5 are down, the left thruster has died, and the cabin pressure is dropping. We've got to abandon this craft, or else we'll die!" The pilot responded, pointing to the parachutes.  
  
Cloud stopped moving momentarily. He'd seen this before. This had happened once before! He was sure now, more than ever, that the dream he supposedly had was more than a dream, SOMEHOW. Only, there were more than enough parachutes, and Aerith wasn't with him. Or was she? How could she be? All of these and a million other questions raced through his head as he and the others equipped their parachutes, and made a quick dive over the side of the open deck.  
  
Cloud looked around as he noticed the whiteness of the sky, filled with clouds, the air rushing around him, feeling intense déjà vu; he looked at the writing on his parachute straps. Everything was almost exactly as it were in his dream, minus Aerith's physical presence. He looked over at the falling Highwind, as it became completely engulfed in flames. The ship itself was headed for the ocean area near Nibelheim, not the Mountains as previously envisioned.  
  
A few moments later, the ground was in sight for the crew as the Highwind met the ocean, causing the fire to extinguish itself.  
  
There was complete silence as Cid stood in one place and watched the Highwind submerge into the ocean, where it would stay.  
  
Déjà vu indeed, Cloud thought, sitting down and placing his hand over his brow. 


	14. Submergence of the Soul

::Chapter 14 – Submergence of the Soul::  
  
Every few seconds a bubble would rise towards the surface of the ocean. These bubbles were all that remained of the presence of the Highwind. There was complete silence everywhere, not counting the few birds flying around, going about their business. The crew of the now submerged Highwind stood on the shore staring into the vast ocean.  
  
"It was almost exactly like the dream." Cloud muttered, breaking the silence.  
  
"What was? This?! Your goddamn dream predicted the ship crashing?!" Cid yelled, infuriated.  
  
"Yes. There were some differences, but yes, the exact thing happened in the dream when we went to Nibelheim." Cloud said defensively.  
  
"Oh, differences you say? Was the sky green?! Did I have a sign stamped on my head that said IDIOT?! Did we all die? Tell me, Cloud, what the hell was different?" Cid asked, chain-smoking cigarette after cigarette.  
  
Cloud pointed at the pilot and Cait Sith. "They died in the dream. Aerith was also alive in the dream. The Highwind didn't crash into the ocean here; instead it crashed into the mountains... directly where we're headed now. Nevertheless the ship crashed." Cloud said, turning his back and preparing to walk into Nibelheim.  
  
"The mountains..?" Cid asked, seemly calmer.  
  
"Yeah, it crashed directly into the mountain, near the Mt. Nibel reactor." Cloud said, pointing towards the reactor. "It's almost as if we were meant to go to the reactor."  
  
"Sure, kid. Before you go off with your delusions of grandeur, or dream, or whatever you're calling it; give me your underwater materia so I can see what's left of my ship." Cid said, placing his hand out.  
  
"Fine, just bring back anything you can find that you think I'd want." Cloud said, forking over his materia.  
  
Cid nodded, and walked towards the ocean. The Highwind itself was most likely a good 25 feet under, and most of the outer portions of it were no more. Chances are that only a few compartments were still water-free. As Cid got closer to the ship, he could see that both wings were no more, and that the observation deck was gone, burnt away. He swam towards the wreckage and into the doorway where the observation deck once was.  
  
Inside the Highwind, the entranceway was about waist deep in water, and rising. The crewman's quarters were completely flooded, as was the chocobo stable. Upon prying the main bridge door open, Cid opened a massive flow of water which quickly raised the water level in the entranceway. He noticed the book that was found in Shinra tower, and swam for it. If he were lucky enough, he could get out of here quickly so the book wouldn't get damaged. He waded towards the entrance, holding the book up high enough so water wouldn't ruin it. He found an empty plastic bag Yuffie had planned on using for vomit, and stuck the book in it, and sealed it shut the best he could before swimming out of the ship and towards the surface.  
  
On the shore, Vincent sat staring at the watch on Tifa's wrist. "Five minutes." He said, looking back towards the ocean and then down again at her watch. "He'll be back soon."  
  
"What do you mean?" Tifa asked, looking down at her own watch.  
  
"Cloud there gave Mr. Pissy an elemental materia, not his underwater one. It was a water elemental materia at that." Vincent responded, pointing at Cloud.  
  
Cloud looked away innocently. A moment later Cid appeared out of the water, nearly out of breath.  
  
"No one mention a word to him." Cloud whispered in Tifa's direction.  
  
"Cloud... I don't think that materia you gave me works very well." Cid said, gasping for air. "I did bring this back with me. You can thank me later." Cid forked over the book, still in plastic bag. "I just need to lie down for a minute and get some air... and smoke a cigarette."  
  
"Uh...thanks...Cid." Cloud said, feeling guilty about not handing over the real underwater materia. "So whenever you're ready, we'll head to Nibelheim, and then to the reactor."  
  
"So what's left of the ship, Cid?" Red XIII asked pacing back and forth.  
  
"Not a whole lot. By now all the compartments are completely flooded. The only thing I was able to save was this book." Cid said, handing the book to Cloud.  
  
"So, do ya know why the whole ship jus' went ka-boom?" Barrett asked, changing weapons on his arm cannon.  
  
"Well, either Shera's a horrible technician, or I'm a lousy captain." Cid said, getting back to his feet. "Let's go, we've got a job to finish."  
  
Cid ushered the others towards the direction of Nibelheim, while following at the very end. Their objective would be to travel through Nibelheim, and head up the path towards the Mt. Nibel reactor. Once there, they would know if a third alien being exists. The only major concern was that this alien could possibly run away as well. If it did, where else would there be to go? Cloud knew in his mind there were no other places to go. He knew that this should be the end of the line.  
  
Getting closer to Nibelheim, the crew could see a small bit of smoke slithering in the sky. It was obvious that if nothing, a small portion of Meteor had crashed into the area surrounding the Mt. Nibel Reactor. Walking past the Shinra Mansion, Vincent stared in its direction, as if he were going to miss the condemned building. He shook his head, and paid attention to the path ahead of him.  
  
They had set foot outside of Nibelheim now, heading down the path towards Mt. Nibel. Cloud felt a cold chill down his spine. He felt as if something were watching him, attempting to scare him away, back to town. He shook it off, and continued onward. It had been a while now, since he'd last ventured down this path. He told himself he'd never do it again, but here he was; ready to put Tifa's life in danger again.  
  
Hah, he thought. Those bastards from town never really knew what happened up there. They all blamed me, if they'd known I saved Tifa's life... The thoughts in Cloud's head trailed off as he walked. He put his hand over the scar Sephiroth's sword had given him.  
  
As he was walking, Barrett contemplated retiring from the whole "AVALANCHE" thing. What point was there to be a part of something that didn't have anything to fight for? He decided it was time to take care of Marlene, and worry less about the planet.  
  
Tifa, walking alongside Cloud, knew what she had to do. She had to move on with her life. It was obvious that Cloud only considered her a friend. She knew he longed for Aerith, even in death.  
  
Vincent thought about returning to that cave he saw Lucrecia in. He knew he needed to see her again, and needed answers to more questions than he could think of. It was time for him to move on with his life as well, but not before he got to speak to her one last time.  
  
Cid, smoking his last cigarette, knew it was time to give them up. He'd already begun to acquire a smoker's cough, and he knew he was never really addicted to them. He decided he would salvage the Highwind, once this was all over. Of course, he would have to survive this fight, he thought.  
  
Reeve, in command of Cait, decided this would be the last robot he'd pilot. He decided to help the citizens of Midgar relocate, and hopefully become their mayor. After all, all he really wanted to do in life was help people.  
  
Yuffie stopped Cloud in his tracks. "Here. I stole this from you a while back. I used it to pay for gas, and buy some materia. I'm done stealing from my friends. I'm only going to steal from those who try to hurt me from now on."  
  
Cloud looked down at the Gil in her hand. "You stole that from me? When?"  
  
"It was when you were asleep on the bridge of the ship." Yuffie said, scared to admit the truth.  
  
"Well... thanks, I guess." Cloud said, taking the Gil from her hand. He stopped and looked up as he took the Gil. They were now at the bridge. THE bridge; where Tifa and he had fallen.  
  
"It's just on the other side of the bridge here." Cloud said, pointing towards the metal exhaust pipes which could be seen just over a small peak.  
  
"Everyone ready?" Cid asked, looking around.  
  
"I think so." Barrett said. "I want ya'll to know this is the last time I fight with ya. I'm too old for this shit. It's time for me to retire from AVALANCHE."  
  
"Why are you retiring?" Tifa asked, in disbelief.  
  
"Les' face it. Now that Midgar is gone, what'll we fight for? Meteor finished what we started. I gotta start being a daddy to lil' Marlene, and less of some kinda hero." Barrett said, looking at his gun-arm.  
  
"He's right, Tifa. I wouldn't understand it if I'd just joined today... but since I've been around you two for some time now, I understand what he's saying. We've stopped the life-force of the planet from being taken by Midgar. We've gone to every other reactor, and each is dysfunctional, except this one here." Cloud said, pointing towards the reactor.  
  
"So are you saying we should bomb this one too?" Cid asked, ready to pull out the last of the plastik.  
  
Cloud nodded.  
  
"Uh, we've got a small problem then." Cid said, pulling the last plastik out of his bag. "This last one is timer detonated, not plunger."  
  
"So we'll set the timer. Seven minutes should be enough, right?" Cid asked, punching numbers on the explosive's keypad.  
  
"Yeah, if we're not out of there in seven minutes, we shouldn't have been here in the first place." Vincent said, putting in his two cents worth.  
  
"Okay then, but we've got one last problem." Cid said, pulling on a wire that ran in his bag.  
  
"What's that?" Cloud asked.  
  
"This one is really two." He said. "Look, one timer, two pieces of plastik."  
  
"So we'll set them up in a nice pattern or something, let's just blow the damn thing up." Barrett said. "I wanna be retired in the next seven minutes."  
  
With that, they ran for the entrance. Quickly, everyone followed Cloud, who knew the path all too well. He could see the bottom shaft in sight, merely a few ladders away. He ran over, and jumped down the last ladder.  
  
"Come on, we've gotta hurry!" He yelled, looking up at those still on the ladder. "Where are Cait and Red?"  
  
"We're here, just give us a minute. It's hard to climb down these ladders." Red yelled.  
  
"Yeah, this robot's not THAT maneuverable." Reeve said, from behind the controls of Cait.  
  
Cloud ran up to the room Jenova was kept in. Here they could set the bomb. One in this room, one in the room before; it would surely kill the beings in incubation right outside the door here.  
  
"Toss me the first bomb!" Cloud yelled, putting his hands out. Cid threw him one of the two pieces of plastik; the one without the timer. Meanwhile, Cid set the timer up and armed the other piece.  
  
"Okay, when you say ready, we've got seven minutes to get the hell out of here." Cid shouted.  
  
Cloud paused. Something wasn't right. Where was the alien? There was too much debris outside for there to be no alien. No eggs, even.  
  
"Guys, we've got a problem here." Cloud shouted. "You remember all the Meteor debris outside, right? Where are the eggs, and the alien?"  
  
There was complete silence. Everyone knew Cloud was right, in one way or the other. SOMETHING was off here. There should be an alien, and six eggs. But there was no such thing in sight. Or was there? Cloud ran back to the shaft he'd thrown Sephiroth off of several years ago.  
  
"Anyone have a flashlight?" He yelled.  
  
"I might." Cid yelled, rummaging through his bag. "Found one!" He tossed it to Cloud. Cloud caught it and flipped it on.  
  
"Oh shit." Cloud said. "Everyone come here."  
  
"What's the matter... Cloud...?" Tifa's voice trailed off as she peeked down the shaft, at what the flashlight had focused upon. There sat three red glowing lights. Not lights, per say, these were eyes. The same eyes they'd seen back at Gongaga and Corel. Were they truly the same eyes, or just three new aliens?  
  
"Look." Cloud whispered, pointing at one of the aliens. "His eye, it's injured. He's healing, but it's injured. It's the same alien from Corel." He was right, it was the same alien. It had burrowed its way here, so had the Gongaga one. WHY had they burrowed here?  
  
"Cloud... look at the eggs." Tifa said. The eggs here had been incubated. They'd gone without being exploded or smashed in. SOMETHING was inside each egg. The eggs were ready to hatch, for a lack of a better word, and from afar showed a few cracks.  
  
"Uh, Cloud... I think we've been spotted." Yuffie said, looking at one of seven tentacles grasping onto the pathway they stood on.  
  
"Oh shit. Cid, arm the bomb, everyone else, RUN!" Cloud ushered everyone towards the ladder as cid pressed the large X button on the plastik, and the timer button on his watch. Just as quickly as they'd started running, each was snatched up and pulled down towards the alien creatures. At the bottom, they were let go as all three aliens slowly started heading towards each other.  
  
"What are they doing now..?" Tifa shouted.  
  
"I don't know, but look at those eggs. Can you see in them? It's HIM." Cloud shouted, pointing at the eggs.  
  
The three aliens slowly became one, each one wrapping around the other. A white light emanated from within their center. Four tentacles remained present as the others became a part of a new creature. The three red eyes shifted, forming three eyes in a triangular shape. It became clearer now what was happening. One alien by itself meant nothing, but all three aliens by themselves became one.  
  
"I finally understand now." Cloud said, staring at the new, giant alien being. "This is the true Jenova. The original Jenova we fought a while back was just one section. Meteor was to bring the other two, but it brought all three. This is Jenova Complete. This is the true Jenova, which means... these things in the eggs, are its children..."  
  
"Cloud, we've got five minutes!" Cid yelled, looking down at his watch.  
  
"Alright then; we fight, one last time, AVALANCHE'S last mission." Cloud said, drawing his sword. Just as he said those words, the six eggs cracked open. Out fell six weak humanoid bodies. "Look at them! I was right!" Cloud yelled, pointing at the six humanoids. Each one was an alien offspring, but they more closely resembled Sephiroth.  
  
"It can't be..." Tifa said, her voice trailing off.  
  
"Kill them!" Cid shouted. "Kill the bastards before they kill us!" He charged at one of the weakened offspring and stuck his spear directly into its skull. Cloud took his sword and decapitated the second offspring. Barrett stood directly over one and fired his gun into its head. Vincent walked up to one, and shot it three times; once for each eye, and one in the temple. Red XIII took his claws and stabbed them into the ocular cavity of the fifth one, before stabbing it into the heart. Yuffie went for the sixth, but stopped before she attacked. The sixth one had gotten to his feet just then, ready to extract revenge for the killing of his siblings.  
  
The sixth took Yuffie by the head and threw her against the wall. Cloud turned and swiped his sword at it, scraping it across the chest, causing minimal damage.  
  
"You guys handle Jenova; I'll take care of this bastard." Cloud yelled, pointing the rest towards Jenova. They went towards Jenova, each ready for his or her own unique attack. Red XIII let loose Cosmo Memory, causing a napalm-like fire, and tearing a third of Jenova away, sending blood everywhere. Vincent was hit by a tentacle and fell to the ground, only to get up a moment later, eyes red, blood rushing, and Veins showing. He ran for Jenova, and punched it in all three eyes, one after the other, before becoming weak and falling back towards the ground. He landed near Yuffie, unconscious. Jenova itself was severely weakened.  
  
Meanwhile, Cloud was tearing away at the last Jenova offspring. Every once in a while, he would swing his sword, and the offspring would block it with his arm, only to receive a cut. The offspring was now cut seven times on each arm, from blocking the sword attack. Blood gushed from the open wounds, as Cloud stopped and prepared to end this fight. Before he could begin the last attack, the offspring punched Cloud in the chest, sending him backward with a massive shockwave. Cloud struggled to get to his feet, out of breath, and tired.  
  
"Cloud, Three minutes!" Cid yelled. "It's time to wrap this up and get the hell out of here!"  
  
"You guys, go... I'll catch up" Cloud muttered, gasping for air. "GO!"  
  
The others ran, grabbed Yuffie and Vincent, and headed for the emergency exit. Cloud stood on both feet, sword out in front of him. "You're no Sephiroth, just a failed experiment." With those words, he ran for the weakened offspring, and began cutting at it, in a fury of rage. Within moments, the last of the six offspring fell to the ground, in seven pieces.  
  
"One minute!" Cid yelled, from the exit.  
  
Cloud ran for the exit, with the last living portion of Jenova following him. "Run!" He yelled, headed Cid's way. Cid ran out the exit, and jumped behind a large boulder which would serve well to protect them from the impending explosion.  
  
"Thirty seconds, Cloud, run faster..." He said, watching his wrist. "Fifteen..."  
  
"Ten..."  
  
"Five..."  
  
"Four..."  
  
"Three..."  
  
"Two..."  
  
"One..."  
  
From inside the Jenova storage room, and the nearby incubation chamber, a massive ball of fire set everything ablaze as it also shook everything apart. The glass on each chamber shattered, the equipment exploded, sending debris everywhere. Outside, the main shaft split in two, before falling, landing on the already dead offspring, and the two thirds of Jenova. Cloud was still running from the other third, as he made his way closer to the exit. Fire engulfed the last bit of Jenova behind him, and sent him flying out the exit, and towards the grassy area near the others.  
  
"Ohh...fuck." He said, before going unconscious.  
  
"Cloud... Are you awake...?" It was a girl's voice. It wasn't Tifa's or Yuffie's though. To Cloud, it sounded more like Aerith's.  
  
"Cloud... Remember when you fell into the life stream...?" The voice continued.  
  
"It's in you now, the life stream. Now that I am too a part of the life stream, I am with you. Until you become a part of the life stream." The voice said.  
  
Cloud knew now, it was Aerith. He knew now, his dream was more than a dream. In some semblance, Aerith WAS alive, but only in this form. It all made sense now. It wasn't a coincidence. The reactors, the aliens, the Highwind, they all made sense to him. Aerith guided the way for him.  
  
"So Cloud... I'll be with you, always." Aerith's voice said. "Just remember, you've got to wake up."  
  
"Cloud! Wake up!" It wasn't Aerith anymore. It was Tifa. "Come on Cloud, don't die on me."  
  
"It burns..." Cloud sputtered, rolling over. His entire back had been burnt by the fire.  
  
"Oh god!" Tifa shouted, worried.  
  
"He'll be alright, Tifa. Let's just find a way to get him back to Nibelheim." Barrett said, looking around for something they could use to make a stretcher. He soon found a tent that had been left here by a mountain climber, or an adventurer. He took the tent, tore it, and re- fashioned the poles to support Cloud's weight.  
  
They put him face-down on the stretcher, and carried him back towards Nibelheim.  
  
...  
  
...  
  
::Two Months Later::  
  
There he stood, on the deck of the porch, cigarette in mouth, goggles on head. Cid had tried giving up smoking, but after the incident two months ago, he knew now, more than ever, he was addicted to them. The Highwind had been salvaged, and a crew of thirty of the best Rocket Town technicians, including Shera, worked on repairing it. The others had agreed on making Nibelheim their new home. Vincent decided to live in the mansion still, but this time, in its rooms. It had been restored and cleared from infestation. The mansion was now the finest looking house in town.  
  
Cloud emerged from his old home, with bandages still wrapped around his wounds. They were mostly healed now, with some areas still scabbed.  
  
Cid stopped him as he emerged. "So Cloud, were you right every single time?"  
  
Cloud looked over at Cid. "It's a long story, and I'll tell it one of these days."  
  
"We have time." Tifa said, walking up behind Cloud. Behind her were Barrett, Marlene, Aerith's mother, Vincent, Reeve, Yuffie, and Nanaki.  
  
He looked around. "Well, alright."  
  
They gathered near the water tower, in the center of town, around a small bonfire.  
  
Cloud began his story. "A while back, I was asked to join a group called AVALANCHE. On our first mission, I bumped into a flower girl. Her name was Aerith...."  
  
:::::THE END::: 


End file.
